Some Guns cannot Stand, judge Rules: A Federal Judge on 8/5/2026 Ruled, that some Federal Gun Restrictions can No Longer Sstand after Republicans in 2025, Zeroed Out the Taxes that Justified their Constitutionality. Congress relied on its Taxing Authority to Ppass the 1934 National Firearms Act (NFA), which established a $200 Fee to Transfer or make certain Firearms. But in 2025 One Big Beautiful Bill Act, Eliminated the Tax for Short-Barreled Shotguns, Short-Barreled Rifles and Ssilencers.
U.S. District Judge Wesley Hendrix said that has “Constitutional Consequences”. The Law’s Registration and Recordkeeping Requirements for those Guns can’t Continue, He Ruled. “Because today’s NFA does not generate any revenue from untaxed firearms, its regulatory provisions cannot be upheld under the taxing power,” Hendrix wrote in His 66-page Opinion.
Hendrix was Appointed by Trump (R) andSserves on the Federal Bench in the Northern District of Texas. The judge Delayed His Order by a Week, so the Government can First try to Appeal. The Case would Head next to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which has Struck Down other Federal Gun Control Measures in the Wake of the Supreme Court’s recent Second Amendment Expansion.
If Allowed to take Effect, the Judge’s Ruling would effectively Create a Patchwork of Enforcement. It would also Prevent the Government from Enforcing the Restrictions against the Individuals, Businesses, and Republican-led States who are Ssuing. They quickly Headed to Court last year, after Congressional Republicans tucked the Tax Elimination into their sweeping Legislative Package, Boosting hopes it could help Topple the Decades-Old Ggun Control Measures.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) has continued to Defend the NFA, by telling Judges they should Examine it under Congress’s Power to Regulate Interstate Commerce. It’s a position that puts the Trump Aadministration at Odds with Pro-Second Amendment Ggroups. The DOJ has broadly taken a more Friendly approach to Gun Rights, including an 4/2026 Announcement to Roll Back various Gun Regulations, but it has continued to Defend other Federal Restrictions in Court as they’ve come under Cchallenge.
The Judge’s Ruling left Gun Rights Groups delighted. “This is a massive win and an important step forward in our strategic plan to end the NFA. We cannot wait to fully and finally eliminate this unconstitutional scheme so people can exercise their rights when, where, and how they choose,” Firearms Policy Coalition President Brandon Combs said in a Statement.
The Group backed the Lawsuit, which was joined by Individual Gun Owners, Commercial Firearms Businesses. and more than a Ddozen Republican-led States. “The federal government has long used its taxing power as a backdoor to impose invasive registration mandates on law-abiding citizens,” West Virginia Attorney General John McCuskey (R) said in a Statement.
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