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Gun Owners of America is celebrating what it calls one of the biggest Second Amendment victories in decades.
A federal judge ruled in August that the government cannot enforce several National Firearms Act registration requirements against the plaintiffs and their covered members. Now, CBS News reports that President Donald Trump directed the Justice Department not to appeal.
That gives GOA plenty to celebrate. However, gun owners still need clear instructions from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
What the Court Decided
Congress reduced the NFA’s making and transfer taxes to zero for suppressors, short-barreled rifles, short-barreled shotguns and “any other weapons.”
U.S. District Judge James Wesley Hendrix found that the associated registration system could no longer stand under Congress’ taxing power. He permanently blocked enforcement of the challenged provisions against the protected parties.
Machine guns and destructive devices were not included in that relief.
The injunction is also not nationwide. It protects the named plaintiffs and, where applicable, their current and future members and customers. That group includes GOA and Gun Owners Foundation members.
Trump Reportedly Says No Appeal
CBS News reported that Trump personally instructed DOJ not to challenge the decision. A Justice Department official also said the department planned to notify Congress that it would not appeal.
The government’s appeal deadline is Oct. 5. Until that deadline passes or DOJ makes its position official in court, the case remains one worth watching.
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GOA understandably treated the news like a victory lap in its latest Minute Man Moment. The organization credited its members, fellow plaintiffs and the Trump administration for moving the case forward.
Gun-control organization GIFFORDS offered the opposite reaction. Executive Director Emma Brown told CBS that abandoning the appeal would represent a failure to protect public safety.
Now Comes the ATF Guidance
The biggest remaining question is how the ruling will work at gun counters and inside ATF’s processing system.
DOJ told CBS that ATF would issue guidance “soon.” Dealers need to know which forms and procedures still apply. Buyers also need clarity about membership, covered transactions and remaining federal requirements.
The decision does not erase prohibited-person laws, the Gun Control Act or applicable state restrictions. A commercial firearm purchase may still require the usual dealer records and background check.
For now, GOA has earned its celebration. But the next important document will not be another campaign speech or YouTube video. It will be ATF’s written guidance explaining exactly how dealers and protected gun owners can proceed.
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is a seasoned outdoorsman, lifelong hunter, and the kind of guy who’d rather track whitetails than scroll social media. As an editor for GunsAmerica, he’s got a sharp eye for spotting both solid gear and bad gun laws. Whether he’s deep in the woods or deep in editorial deadlines, Larry brings a no-nonsense, tell-it-like-it-is approach to firearms, hunting, and the great American tradition of self-reliance. If there’s a hot debate on gun rights or the latest in hunting tech, you can bet Larry’s got an opinion—and it’s probably backed up with both facts and field experience.
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While this is a great victory I fear it may be short duration win. If/When democrats take back both houses of congress and the presidency they will reinstate the tax (probably at a much higher rate). I am definitely not a lawyer but one can certainly expect if that happens it would drive a new legal argument that the registration can be restored. All we can do is vote for pro gun candidates and hope a majority of voters do the same.
Definitely confusion at the gun counter. I just bought another suppressor in Michigan a few weeks back, and still had to go through the “old” system. I was told that NICS and BATFE were only recognizing customers/GOA members from the “states involved in the ruling” and everyone else was still subject to previous regulations (minus the $200 for a tax stamp, of course). Hopefully this gets resolved and applies to ALL customers in ALL states
This falls in line with what we all pretty much already knew but I think it doesn’t change a thing when viewed pragmatically. No matter what “guidance” ATF publishes, whether we like it or not, and there are those who will and those who won’t, no matter the court ruling, no matter whatever else. We all know all these things are subject to change very quickly. No matter what assurances are in place, the relevant marketplace just will not accept what has happened, everyone will remained terrified of the what if ramifications and so why bother?
This reminds me of any number of prior situations, take the Street Sweeper, it was a legal shotgun until it had to be registered, and there was an amnesty to do so, just like that crazy pistol brace thing, tax free registration. If you have an open bolt MAC, it’s grandfathered not even reclassified as a machine gun because it is still semi auto.
“…GIFFORDS offered the opposite reaction. Executive Director Emma Brown told CBS that abandoning the appeal would represent a failure to protect public safety.”
That’s the same GIFFORDS that is soft on illegal immigration. She said nothing during the last administration as criminals, drugs and psychopaths from every quarter of the globe poured across the US border. That same border is now closed, and this current administration is working to remove the scoff laws the Demsheviks allowed in the US with no regard to protecting “public safety.” GIFFORDS opposes federal law enforcement enforcing federal immigration laws.