Silencers and short-barreled firearms like sawed-off shotguns have been heavily regulated under the National Firearms Act for nearly a century. That just changed.

Silencers and short-barreled firearms like sawed-off shotguns have been heavily regulated under the National Firearms Act for nearly a century. That just changed. Under the NFA, enacted in 1934, owners of silencers, short-barreled rifles and shotguns, and some other atypical weapons were required to register their guns with the federal government and undergo more extensive vetting. On August 5, a federal judge in Texas, James Wesley Hendrix, found the registration requirements unconstitutional and issued an injunction blocking the provision. He gave the Trump administration a week to appeal. The Justice Department missed that deadline. So on August 13, the special regulations on silencers (also known as suppressors) and short-barreled guns were effectively scrapped for the first time in more than 90 years. Gun rights proponents cheered the decision. In Texas, far-right congressional candidate Brandon Herrera — known online as TheAKGuy — was among the first to buy a legal, unregistered silencer just after midnight at an event organized by Gun Owners of America. Hours later, in South Carolina, the National Association for Gun Rights posted a video claiming silencers were “flying off the shelves” at the Greenville store of Palmetto State Armory, one of the plaintiffs in the case. Though the injunction is effective nationwide, it’s unclear who all it actually applies to. Hendrix limited it to the plaintiffs in the case, their members, and current or future customers. The list of plaintiffs is long and includes more than a dozen manufacturers, retailers, states, and gun rights groups, including GOA, the Firearms Policy Coalition, Palmetto State Armory, Texas State Rifle Association, and SilencerCo Weapons Research. That makes the list of members and customers who are no longer subject to the NFA’s regulation lengthy. With that, prospective buyers who are members of one of the groups or purchasing from one of the plaintiff retailers or manufacturers can likely buy a silencer or short-barreled weapon just like any other typical gun. If purchased from a licensed gun store, the purchase requires a federal background check. If from a private, unlicensed seller, there’s no background check required. It’s unclear how state laws that mirror the NFA may affect the legality of a purchase or possession. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives — the federal agency that handles NFA registration — declined to give any guidance. “ATF is processing forms and will continue to process forms consistent with applicable law, regulations, and agency policy,” an ATF spokesperson told The Trace. “ATF cannot provide legal advice or interpret court rulings for individuals. Anyone who has questions about how a court ruling may affect their particular circumstances should consult with their attorney for legal advice.” The Second Amendment Foundation, another gun rights organization, warned that the legal landscape is murky. “It’s not quite time to break out the champagne,” executive director Adam Kraut said in a statement. “There are also numerous outstanding questions as to how the injunction will be interpreted by the federal government and how both the people and affected arms will be treated, both now and in the future.” Deregulation of silencers and short-barreled weapons has long been a goal of the gun rights movement. Last year, Republicans in Congress eliminated the $200 tax on silencers, short-barreled rifles, short-barreled shotguns, and some other NFA weapons. That helped contribute to this month’s decision: Without the tax, the Texas judge ruled that the NFA’s registration requirement exceeded Congress’s authority. Read Next Inside the GOP’s Tax Bill, a Return to Prohibition-Era Gun Regulation Republicans are pushing to erase restrictions on silencers and curtail enforcement of federal gun laws. There are already more than 6.5 million silencers, 1.1 million short-barreled rifles, and 200,000 short-barreled shotguns registered with the federal government, according to the ATF. There are also 96,000 registered as “Any Other Weapons,” a legal class that includes atypical firearms like umbrella, pen, and cane guns; pistols with foregrips; and smoothbore handguns designed to fire shotgun shells. Those are also deregulated by the judge’s ruling. Even if the duration of the deregulation is brief, silencers and short-barreled weapons could flood the market in the interim. If the district judge’s decision is later reversed, new owners will likely be required to retroactively register their NFA weapons. But how the ATF would enforce that or what leeway those owners would be given is unclear. Silencers and other NFA weapons are rarely used in crimes today, but they were used in horrific crimes before the registration requirement. While short-barreled weapons are not more deadly, powerful, or damaging than typical variations, gun control proponents argue that the weapons are more maneuverable and concealable, making them potentially more desirable for crime. “Silencers and dangerous, easily concealable weapons can now easily get into the wrong hands and be used to harm innocent people,” said Emma Brown, the executive director of the gun reform group Giffords. “By not seeking a stay, the Department of Justice is putting the gun industry’s profits ahead of the American people’s safety.” Under federal law, a short-barreled rifle is any rifle with a barrel less than 16 inches or a total length less than 26 inches. A short-barreled shotgun is any shotgun with a barrel less than 18 inches or a total length less than 26 inches. Short-barreled shotguns include sawed-off shotguns, which are typical shotguns that have been physically shortened. If that process involves sawing off the portion of the barrel that contains its choke, a sawed-off shotgun can produce a wider or more unpredictable spreading pattern, which can potentially be more dangerous at close range. In the past two decades, applications to register National Firearms Act weapons have increased significantly, from about 42,000 in 2005 to more than 1.5 million in 2025. The bulk of those applications tend to be for silencers. In May 2026, for example, silencer applications accounted for 52 percent of all NFA applications. Applications for NFA registration can represent multiple weapons. In 2025, the ATF processed more than 5.8 million National Firearms Act weapons in total. The decision doesn’t affect machine guns. A separate law banned the sale or possession by civilians of any machine gun manufactured after 1986, limiting the number of machine guns in circulation, while the National Firearms Act still requires prospective owners to register the machine gun, undergo an enhanced background check, and pay a $200 tax. The Trump administration now has until October to appeal the judge’s decision. When asked why it did not immediately appeal in time to delay the injunction, the Justice Department responded with a statement: “The Department respects Americans’ Second Amendment rights and is currently assessing the impact of the court’s ruling.”