With Trump’s legislative reform slashing crucial taxes, Gun Owners of America is putting the National Firearms Act under the gun in court.
At a Glance
- Gun Owners of America (GOA) has filed a major lawsuit to dismantle key parts of the 90-year-old National Firearms Act (NFA).
- The lawsuit was triggered by a provision in President Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” that eliminated the $200 excise tax on items like suppressors and short-barreled rifles.
- GOA argues that since the NFA was only constitutional as a tax law, the elimination of the tax makes its remaining registration and regulation requirements unconstitutional.
- The lawsuit is seen as a “once-in-a-generation” opportunity to roll back a cornerstone of federal gun control.
A “Once-in-a-Generation” Legal Battle
In a groundbreaking legal move, Gun Owners of America (GOA) has filed a major lawsuit aimed at dismantling the National Firearms Act (NFA), a cornerstone of federal gun control for 90 years. The lawsuit, filed on Friday, July 4, 2025, was made possible by President Donald Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill,” which eliminated the $200 excise tax on suppressors and short-barreled firearms.
GOA and its allies argue that this tax cut has created a unique legal opening to challenge the very foundation of the NFA. “This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to dismantle one of the most abusive federal gun control laws on the books,” GOA’s Senior Vice President, Erich Pratt, said in a statement.
A “Tax Law” With No Tax?
The NFA was passed in 1934 and has long been a thorn in the side of Second Amendment advocates. The law has only survived legal challenges because the Supreme Court, in a 1937 ruling, upheld it not as a gun control law under the Commerce Clause, but as a legitimate exercise of Congress’s taxing power.
The National Firearms Act (NFA) of 1934 has long imposed burdensome taxes and bureaucratic registration requirements that infringe on Idahoans’ constitutional right to keep and bear arms.
I am proud to co-sponsor @RepEricBurlison’s H.R. 335 to abolish the NFA and strip the ATF’s…
— Rep. Russ Fulcher (@RepRussFulcher) June 2, 2025
Now, GOA argues, with the tax on most NFA items eliminated by Trump’s new law, the act’s constitutional justification has vanished. “The Supreme Court has made clear that the NFA survives only as a tax law,” Sam Paredes, a GOA board member, told the Washington Examiner. With the tax gone, they contend, the remaining provisions—such as the mandatory registration of these items with the ATF—are now unconstitutional infringements on the right to keep and bear arms.
A New Era for Gun Rights?
The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, seeks to have the NFA’s registration and regulation requirements for suppressors and short-barreled firearms declared unconstitutional.
The legal challenge is part of a broader shift in federal gun policy under the Trump administration. The Department of Justice, now under Attorney General Pam Bondi, has reportedly redirected its focus away from prosecuting minor paperwork violations and toward targeting violent crime and gun smuggling. This landmark lawsuit, as reported by Newsweek, could be the most significant step yet in rolling back decades of federal firearms regulations.
