DOJ Lets Parts Of National Firearms Act Lapse While Creating New Gun-Rights Restoration Process
The Justice Department let key parts of the National Firearms Act lapse by not appealing a Texas judge's ruling that struck down provisions covering silencers and certain short-barreled weapons.[1] On Monday, Attorney General Todd Blanche finalized a DOJ rule that creates an online portal and a case-by-case process to restore federal firearms rights for some people barred by past convictions.[2]
Judge James Wesley Hendrix of the Northern District of Texas invalidated NFA provisions covering silencers and certain short-barreled rifles and shotguns in more than a dozen states.[1] By declining to seek a stay or file an emergency appeal before the one-week deadline, DOJ allowed the affected NFA requirements to lapse for the plaintiffs, though the department retains more than a month to seek a non-emergency appeal.[1] As applied to the plaintiffs in the Texas case, some Americans in the covered states can now possess short-barreled rifles, short-barreled shotguns and silencers without registering them with the federal government.[3]
In 2025, Congress reduced the NFA transfer and manufacturing tax to $0, and Hendrix concluded that change removed the statute's constitutional basis under Congress's taxing power.[1] Plaintiffs including the Silencer Shop Foundation and Gun Owners of America argued that the tax cut undercut the NFA's legal justification, a theory the judge accepted.[1] Gun-rights groups hailed the result as a historic Second Amendment victory, while gun-safety groups called it a dangerous rollback; Brady President Kris Brown called the department's inaction a government "failure" that deregulates "uniquely lethal weapons and devices." NPR MS NOW
Early coverage focused on the immediate deregulation and public-safety concerns and cast DOJ's decision not to appeal as a stark policy failure.[4] More recent reporting emphasized that DOJ has also moved to open a narrowly tailored relief process; Blanche said applicants must document the basis of their prohibition and show they are unlikely to pose a danger to public safety, and DOJ said violent felons, registered sex offenders and people in the U.S. illegally are presumptively ineligible.[5] PBS reported the final rule is designed to work around a 1992 congressional restriction that had blocked the ATF from processing firearms-rights restoration petitions.[2]
Show source details & analysis (6 sources)
📌 Key Facts
- Judge James Wesley Hendrix invalidated key provisions of the National Firearms Act covering silencers and certain short‑barreled rifles and shotguns in more than a dozen states, concluding that Congress’s 2025 cut of the NFA transfer/manufacturing tax to $0 removed the statute’s constitutional basis under the taxing power (Judge James Wesley Hendrix).
- The Justice Department allowed Hendrix’s ruling to take effect by not filing an emergency appeal before the one‑week deadline and by choosing not to appeal before the 12:01 a.m. Central deadline on Thursday, August 13, 2026, letting the affected NFA requirements lapse for the plaintiffs while retaining more than a month to seek a non‑emergency appeal (which NPR reports is unlikely) (Justice Department).
- As applied to the plaintiffs in the Texas case (including organizations such as Silencer Shop Foundation and Gun Owners of America and their members in the covered states), some Americans can now possess short‑barreled rifles, short‑barreled shotguns and silencers without registering them with the federal government, producing a patchwork of NFA rules rather than nationwide deregulation (short‑barreled rifles, short‑barreled shotguns and silencers).
- Gun‑rights groups including Gun Owners of America hailed the decision as a historic Second Amendment victory, while gun‑safety organizations such as Giffords, Everytown for Gun Safety and Brady criticized it — with Brady President Kris Brown calling the decision a government “failure” that deregulates “uniquely lethal weapons and devices” (Kris Brown).
- On Monday, August 17, 2026, Attorney General Todd Blanche finalized a DOJ rule creating an online portal and a case‑by‑case application process allowing some people barred from owning guns because of federal convictions to petition for restoration of their federal firearms rights, requiring applicants to document the circumstances of their prohibition and to show they are not likely to pose a danger to public safety (Attorney General Todd Blanche).
- DOJ said that, absent extraordinary circumstances, applicants convicted of violent crimes, registered sex offenders and people living in the U.S. illegally will be presumptively ineligible for restoration, and any relief would restore only federal firearms rights without overriding separate state restrictions (violent felons).
- The final rule is explicitly designed to work around a 1992 congressional restriction that has prevented the ATF from processing firearms‑rights restoration petitions despite a longstanding statutory provision allowing such petitions (1992 congressional restriction).
- Coverage and analysis situate these developments within a broader pattern of Trump‑administration gun policy moves, including rollbacks of Biden‑era gun‑show rules, changes affecting people with mental illness, and a decision not to enforce the long‑standing federal ban on mailing handguns through the U.S. Postal Service (Trump‑administration gun policy moves).
📰 Source Timeline (6)
Follow how coverage of this story developed over time
- Judge James Wesley Hendrix of the Northern District of Texas invalidated key National Firearms Act provisions covering silencers and certain short-barreled rifles and shotguns in more than a dozen states, holding that once Congress reduced the transfer/manufacturing tax to $0 in 2025, it eliminated the NFA's constitutional basis under the taxing power.
- Hendrix gave the Justice Department one week to file an emergency appeal before his ruling took effect; DOJ did not file, allowing the affected NFA requirements to lapse for the plaintiffs, though it retains more than a month to seek a non-emergency appeal, which NPR reports is unlikely.
- The ruling currently applies only to the plaintiffs in the Texas case, including organizations such as Silencer Shop Foundation and Gun Owners of America and their members in the covered states, creating a patchwork of NFA rules rather than nationwide deregulation.
- Gun rights advocates, including Gun Owners of America, are publicly celebrating the decision as a historic Second Amendment victory, while gun-safety advocates like Everytown's Jack Budish warn that deregulating silencers and certain NFA weapons "unleash[es] these weapons" and undermines public safety.
- The article explains the litigants' legal theory that the 2025 One Big Beautiful Bill Act's reduction of the $200 NFA tax on silencers and short-barreled weapons to zero removed Congress's taxing-power justification for the NFA's registration and related regulatory requirements.
- On Monday, August 17, 2026, the Justice Department finalized a rule establishing a process for people barred from owning guns due to criminal convictions to apply for restoration of their federal firearms rights.
- Attorney General Todd Blanche said the process will operate through a new online portal and that applications will be decided case by case based on an applicant’s record and reputation and whether they pose a likely threat to public safety.
- Blanche stated that, absent extraordinary circumstances, people convicted of violent crimes, registered sex offenders, and people living in the U.S. illegally will be denied restoration under the new rule.
- The rule is designed to work around a congressional restriction, in place since 1992, that has prevented ATF from processing federal firearms-rights restoration applications despite a longstanding statutory provision allowing petitions.
- Gun-safety group Brady, through President Kris Brown, criticized the administration’s broader record on gun policy and said it is reviewing the final rule while stressing the need for a robust system that minimizes public-safety risk.
- On Monday, August 17, 2026, Attorney General Todd Blanche issued a final DOJ rule launching a process for certain prohibited individuals to apply for restoration of their federal firearm rights.
- Applicants must document the circumstances of their federal firearms prohibition and demonstrate they are not likely to pose a danger to public safety, with DOJ considering their record, reputation and subsequent conduct.
- DOJ stated that, absent extraordinary circumstances, violent felons, registered sex offenders, illegal aliens and others who present an ongoing danger are presumptively ineligible for relief, and any relief restores only federal firearms rights without overriding separate state restrictions.
- Blanche framed the move by saying the federal government should not permanently deprive Americans of a constitutional right without regard to whether they pose a danger to public safety, calling the new process 'rigorous' and 'commonsense.'
- By August 13, 2026, the Texas ruling is being applied so that some Americans can possess short‑barreled rifles, short‑barreled shotguns and silencers without registering them with the federal government.
- CBS characterizes the practical effect of DOJ's decision not to seek a stay as deregulating these National Firearms Act weapons for affected Americans.
- The segment reinforces that the Trump administration affirmatively declined to pause the Texas judge's ruling, allowing the deregulation to proceed.
- The MS NOW article emphasizes that the Justice Department let Judge James Wesley Hendrix's ruling take effect by choosing not to appeal before the 12:01 a.m. Central deadline on Thursday, August 13, 2026.
- It characterizes the ruling as having 'gutted' the National Firearms Act's permitting scheme and describes this as the first deregulation of silencers and short‑barreled weapons in nearly a century, from the perspective of gun‑safety advocates.
- The piece highlights specific criticism from gun‑safety groups Giffords, Everytown for Gun Safety, and Brady, including a detailed quote from Brady President Kris Brown calling the decision a government 'failure' that deregulates 'uniquely lethal weapons and devices.'
- It juxtaposes DOJ's non‑appeal with Attorney General Todd Blanche’s earlier written assurance to senators that DOJ’s duty is to defend the constitutionality of laws like the National Firearms Act, suggesting a divergence between his confirmation testimony and department actions.
- The article situates the NFA decision within a broader pattern of Trump‑administration gun policy moves, including recent rollbacks of Biden‑era gun‑show rules, changes affecting people with mental illness, and a decision not to enforce the long‑standing federal ban on mailing handguns through the U.S. Postal Service.