Buy a Suppressor And Help Put The Final Nails In The Coffin Of The NFA

The government’s power largely rests on the willing compliance of the population. Enculturating kids to become docile tax cattle is one of the major reasons that the government forces kids to attend state-run government indoctrination centers for 12 years.

In addition, there aren’t enough cops to enforce all the laws, so the government will periodically pick a few tall poppies to smash to scare the population into compliance. This is what happened to Randy Weaver, Irwin Schiff, Ross Ulbricht, Edward Snowden, and Julian Assange.

But sometimes the population becomes so fed up with a particularly stupid law that they simply start disobeying en masse, regardless of what the law says.

This happened with sex segregation laws, anti-sodomy laws, and bans on cannabis. Such widespread civil disobedience is often a precursor to actually changing the laws.

If you support the right of civilian self-defense, there’s now an opportunity to show your support via low-risk civil disobedience.

The Ruling

On August 5, 2026, U.S. District Judge James Wesley Hendrix in the Northern District of Texas issued a ruling in Silencer Shop Foundation v. ATF, declaring the federal registration requirements under the National Firearms Act (NFA) unconstitutional as applied to suppressors (silencers), short-barreled rifles (SBRs), and short-barreled shotguns (SBSs). ^{1 2} Legal commentators have noted the ruling follows directly from Congress zeroing out the NFA transfer and making taxes – with no tax left to collect, the registration scheme no longer functions as a revenue measure. ³

The ruling is not a universal nationwide injunction. Relief applies specifically to the plaintiffs (including Silencer Shop, Gun Owners of America, Firearms Regulatory Accountability Coalition, and Gun Owners Foundation), their organizational members, and the downstream customers of those commercial members. ^{4 5}

The district court initially stayed its ruling for seven days to allow the federal government time to appeal or seek an emergency stay.

On August 13, 2026, the Department of Justice allowed that stay to expire without seeking a pause from an appellate court, causing the injunction to go into effect for covered parties. ^{6 7}

I’m not a lawyer, but as I understand it, what this means is that if you’re a member of one of those organizations, you can buy a silencer or short-barreled rifle/shotgun over the counter without NFA Form 4 registration. ⁸

Such lawsuits are expensive. Legal expenses aren’t yet publicly known, but they could reach well over $1,000,000 in total billable hours, briefing, and specialized legal work.

Call to Action

By becoming a member of GOA and buying a silencer or SBR from Palmetto State Armory, SilencerCo, or B&T USA, you will (1) help these orgs recoup the cost of these lawsuits, and (2) create the perception among legislators that it’s not worth enforcing these laws any longer. ⁹

Note that this ruling is still new and the ATF is a capricious and murderous organization. I think the risk that they will attack buyers is low but it’s not non-existent.

Notes