A federal judge in Texas has dealt a major blow to the National Firearms Act (NFA), one of the nation’s biggest and longest-standing gun control measures, which restricts, among other things, access to short-barreled rifles (SBRs) and weapon suppressors.
As reported by The Texan News, Judge James Hendrix of the Northern District of Texas has blocked the restrictions on SBRs and suppressors from being enforced in 15 states including Texas, as well as on a coalition of businesses and advocacy groups.
Second Amendment activists and gun enthusiasts have worked to get the NFA repealed for years, but legal challenges to the law have all failed, since it’s technically a tax law. Until recently, the NFA required those wishing to purchase an SBR or suppressor to pay a $200 tax and go through a lengthy permitting process, but thanks to the Big Beautiful Bill, that tax is now $0.00, and the permitting process has been dramatically sped up.
Chris McNutt with Texas Gun Rights says this move is a critical next step. According to him: “The federal judge is doing what Congress should have done when they zeroed out the tax. They should have just said, ‘These are no longer items regulated by the NFA.’”
He went on to point out that the state of Texas has been working to undercut the NFA for years when it comes to both SBRs and suppressors. “We passed a bill to decriminalize short-barreled firearms in the state of Texas, in hopes that these restrictions would no longer be in place at the federal level.”
McNutt also says this will help clear up the legal gray area that currently surrounds suppressors. He explained: “They [The Texas State Legislature] stated that any suppressors that were made in Texas and stayed in Texas were not subject to NFA regulations. The ATF quickly sent out a letter to all FFLs in Texas saying they would not recognize that law.”
McNutt hopes this is just the next step towards completely abolishing the National Firearms Act.