Gun Owners of America begin transferring silencers without national approval

Key Points:

• A federal judge struck down decades-old National Firearms Act (NFA) registration and approval requirements for gun silencers, leading gun rights groups to begin transferring silencers without federal approval for the first time since 1934.
• Gun Owners of America (GOA) and Silencer Shop facilitated the first lawful transfers under the new ruling, with two Texas gun owners obtaining suppressors without the traditional federal registration process.
• The ruling followed a legal challenge after the 2025 One Big Beautiful Bill Act reduced NFA taxes on suppressors and certain firearms to $0, which plaintiffs argued invalidated the related regulatory requirements.
• US District Judge James Wesley Hendrix ruled the regulations tied to the now-eliminated taxes lacked constitutional basis but declined to issue a nationwide injunction or rule on Second Amendment claims, stating that constitutional changes must come from Congress.
• The Trump administration reportedly will not appeal the decision, and gun rights advocates hailed the ruling as a historic victory for Second Amendment protections.