SAN ANGELO, TX — A high-stakes legal battle over the constitutionality of federal gun registration is heating up in Texas, as three of the nation’s leading gun control organizations have joined forces with the U.S. Department of Justice and former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi to defend the controversial National Firearms Act (NFA).
The lawsuit, Silencer Shop Foundation v. ATF, was brought by Gun Owners of America (GOA), the Silencer Shop Foundation, and other plaintiffs. They argue that the NFA’s registration requirements for suppressors, short-barreled rifles, and similar items are unconstitutional — especially after Congress eliminated the $200 transfer tax on many of these items in 2025. GOA contends that without a tax in place, the government has no constitutional authority to require a national gun registry.
Despite this change in law, the DOJ continues to enforce the registration framework, arguing that the NFA is still supported by Congress’s taxing and commerce clause powers. In a surprising twist, the DOJ’s position is now being reinforced by an amicus curiae (“friend of the court”) brief filed by the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, Everytown for Gun Safety, and Giffords Law Center — the three largest gun control lobbying organizations in the country.