Court ruling frees silencers from decades of federal paperwork, GOA launches unregistered transfers

A federal court ruling held that once Congress eliminated the National Firearms Act taxes on suppressors, the related registration and transfer rules lost constitutional footing, prompting Gun Owners of America and Silencer Shop to begin transferring silencers without NFA paperwork. Two midnight transfers in Texas—carried out by Brandon Herrera and Texas state Rep. Wes Virdell—were described as the first lawful unregistered transfers in 92 years. U.S. District Judge James Wesley Hendrix did not issue a nationwide injunction, and the Justice Department reportedly will not appeal. The decision marks a major shift in the regulatory landscape for silencers and has been hailed by gun-rights advocates as a landmark Second Amendment victory.