Washington D.C. — Senator Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) today celebrated news that the U.S. Department of Justice will not appeal the ruling in Silencer Shop v. ATF, a decision that bars enforcement of key National Firearms Act (NFA) provisions regulating suppressors, short-barreled rifles, and short-barreled shotguns. Moving forward, gun owners will not have to provide fingerprints or complete special paperwork to purchase these widely-owned firearms, and instead will only have to complete the standard background check required for other guns.
“This is a massive Second Amendment victory for gun owners nationwide and it’s 90 years in the making,” said Lummis. “I pushed hard to zero out the $200 NFA tax on suppressors and short-barreled rifles in the One Big Beautiful Bill, and it’s exactly that provision that made this court win possible. President Trump’s decision to see this fight through and keep the Justice Department from appealing shows he understands what’s at stake for law-abiding gun owners. I will never stop fighting to ensure all Americans can fully enjoy their Second Amendment rights.”
Background:
- In July 2025, Senators Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) and Mike Crapo (R-ID) successfully secured the inclusion of a provision in the One Big Beautiful Bill eliminating taxes under the National Firearms Act for gun owners (26 U.S.C. 5811). It was that provision that led to this Second Amendment win in Silencer Shop Foundation v. ATF.
- Gun Owners of America and the Gun Owners Foundation, joined by 15 states, including Wyoming, sued the ATF in Silencer Shop Foundation v. ATF, arguing that once Congress zeroed out the $200 NFA transfer tax on suppressors, short-barreled rifles, and short-barreled shotguns through the One Big Beautiful Bill, the registration and fingerprinting requirements built around that tax lost their constitutional footing. The court agreed, ruling the NFA’s regulatory scheme could no longer stand on the taxing power once there was no tax left to collect. President Trump has ordered the DOJ not to appeal the ruling.
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