Due to the nature of the subject, I have to preface this with a disclaimer that it’s not legal advice. Do you own homework, talk to an actual lawyer before you do things, and don’t do anything dumb…
Today, the ATF (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms) issued official guidance on National Firearms Act (NFA) items, allowing individuals to build and/or purchase short barreled rifles, short-barreled shotguns, suppressors and “any other weapons”, without going through the NFA approval process. This is the first time in over 90 years that this has been allowed, so it is a monumental win. We should celebrate the win, but also not lose sight of the fact that this win is tenuous at best.
How did we get here?
If you haven’t followed these events, I’ll give you a short synopsis. If you are familiar, you can skip to the next section…
On July 4, 2025, Trump signed the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” into law. Within this legislation was a provision that reduced the NFA tax stamp cost for suppressors, short barreled rifles, and short-barreled shotguns from $200 to $0. This created a unique situation as can there be a “tax” of $0?
Several companies and organizations (Silencer Shop, Palmetto State Armory, B&T USA, SilencerCo, Gun Owners of America (GOA), and others) joined together and filed suit against the ATF (Silencer Shop Foundation v. ATF), arguing that registration and Form 4 requirements were now unconstitutional now that the tax is $0. A district court ruled on August 5, 2026 that it was unconstitutional and issued an injunction against the ATF with a 7-day stay to allow them to appeal. The 7-day stay was allowed to expire, which allowed the permanent injunction to take effect for customers of the plaintiffs in 27 qualifying states.
At this point, people in those states began to buy suppressors using only a 4473 — the background check required for normal firearm purchases. To be allowed to do this, they were supposed to be a customer of the plaintiffs, but the best I can tell, this wasn’t being enforced by the ATF.
As I said above, today (October 9, 2026), the AFT issued official guidance on this subject, publishing an open letter and FAQ. I recommend you read them for yourself, but the short version is that the ATF now allows individuals to make or purchase short barreled rifles, short-barreled shotguns, suppressors and “any other weapons” through the same means as applies to normal firearms (pistols, rifles & shotguns).
I want to note all the plaintiffs in this case: Silencer Shop, Palmetto State Armory, B&T USA, SilencerCo, Gun Owners of America (GOA), Gun Owners Foundation (GOF), Firearms Regulatory Accountability Coalition, Inc. (FRAC), one individual, and 15 states. I note these because they are solely responsible for this win, and we should reward them by giving them our business and support.
I also want to note the glaring omission: The National Rifle Association (NRA). There is no excuse for them not joining the case in my opinion and I don’t recommend anyone give them another cent.
The win
Before I get to the bad of these events, I want to reiterate the win and go over some of the details.
All these items:
- Legal to purchase new from a dealer like you would a normal firearm — only a 4473 is required (no more Form 4 required).
- Legal to transfer between people as you would a normal firearm.
Suppressors:
- Legal to make your own at home (no Form 1 required any longer).
- Legal to own repair parts (extra wipes, baffles, etc.) and make repairs yourself.
Short-barreled Rifles:
- Legal to cut a rifle barrel shorter than 16”.
- Legal to put a barrel shorter than 16” onto a rifle.
- Legal to put a barrel longer than 16” onto a pistol.
- The “pistol brace” debate is essentially moot.
Short-barreled Shotguns:
- Legal to cut a shotgun barrel shorter than 18” with a stock or grip.
Any Other Weapons (AOWs):
- “Niche” firearm (pen guns, cane guns, etc.) can be bought or built (I’ve always wanted a pen gun).
- Foregrips on “pistols” are now legal.
- Smooth-bore handguns designed to fire shotgun shells.
The risk
While this is a huge win for 2nd Amendment (2A) rights, there’s one big factor that can’t be overlooked: This case changed no laws. The National Firearms Act (NFA) is still in effect, and still regulates these items.
This means that this win can easily be reversed. Let’s assume a hypothetical situation of a Democrat winning the presidency in the future. Their new ATF Director and/or Attorney General decides to start enforcing the NFA for these items again. They can as it’s well within their purview to do so. Yes, there’s been a district court ruling against this, but they’ll just say “sue me” and the court battle will resume. This event would put us back to where we were before August 5th.
Furthermore, what happens if a law is passed to increase the tax from $0 to $1? The legal standing of the court decision is then nullified, and the NFA must be fully enforced again.
In either case, an interesting situation is created — thousands, or possibly even millions, of “legal” suppressors, short-barreled rifles, etc. are now suddenly “illegal” (the scope depends on the time involved). What happens then? Are all these owners now felons?
Historical precedent
While I can’t predict the future, there is some historical precedent for this situation. While the National Firearms Act (NFA) was enacted in June of 1934, it wasn’t well enforced. This was further complicated by World War II and the number of “items” that came home with soldiers as trophies. As a result, when the Gun Control Act (GCA) of 1968 was passed, it created a 30-day amnesty period, allowing people to register previously unregistered NFA items without criminal penalty and without needing to pay the $200 tax.
Interestingly, the GCA authorized the Attorney General to declare additional amnesty periods of up to 90 days each as necessary. Other than that initial 30-day period, no amnesty periods have ever been declared. But, the provisions exist to do it again. As a result, it’s my expectation that should one of the situations I brought up above should occur, this is what would happen again. I would expect that a new amnesty period be declared. Whether it would be free, or at a new tax price (which could be exorbitantly high), is anyone’s guess.
During this amnesty, I would also expect that a new court battle would ensue, with a new factor: common use. The 2008 Supreme Court decision in District of Columbia v. Heller created a new test regarding Second Amendment protections. Specifically, the court ruled that the Second Amendment protects weapons that are “in common use at the time” for lawful purposes, and excludes weapons that are considered “dangerous and unusual”.
This means that it’s critical to put as many suppressors, short-barreled rifles, short-barreled shotguns, etc. into “common use” as possible while we can. Every one that exists helps this argument. It also creates a bigger “genie”, that’s harder for the government to put “back into the bottle”.
Make it permanent
One big way we can head off this potential battle is by getting the laws changed. Contact your Representatives and make them understand that you expect them to enact legislation to remove these items from the NFA, or better yet, repeal the NFA in its entirety. A law change is the only way this battle will be “over”, and we must continue to push until this goal is reached.
Don’t do it once and consider it done. Be a thorn in their side until the change you want enacted is completed.
Bottom Line
While this isn’t legal advise, I do encourage you to take advantage of this development and get as many of these items as you can afford to do so. I know that I am planning to. And my hope is that this helps preserve this capability for future generations to come.
And please, if you do nothing else, hound your representatives so that we can make this change permanent. We have the momentum, and we must use it while we can.