In great news for Second Amendment fans, a quiet gun-control revolution is underway. Yesterday, ABC reported, “Justice Department won’t enforce registration rules on silencers and certain guns after court ruling.” A hundred years of mandatory federal registration just came to a peaceful end.
The DOJ moved Friday to let more people buy firearm suppressors (silencers), short-barreled rifles and ‘sawed-off’ shotguns, and other guns— without registering them. The change in policy followed a narrow court ruling striking down certain provisions of an antique 1930s law. The Texas judge’s ruling was limited to just the plaintiffs in the case, but the DOJ said it would cease enforcing the rules for everyone.
Instead, the DOJ announced it would stop policing law-abiding citizens and focus on criminals— a mind-blowing concept that caused progressives to swoon in horrified disbelief. ATF, the department said, would “continue to ensure we remain focused where we are needed the most: combating violent crime in American communities.”
The road to this Constitutionalist win was paved by last year’s One Big Beautiful Bill, which quietly dropped a $200 “permit tax” required for these same types of “special interest” weapons. The article explained that some DOJ officials wanted to appeal the decision that overturned parts of the 94-year-old law, but the Trump Administration told them to back down and expand it to everybody.
The OBBBA move was strategic. Without getting in the legal weeds, eliminating the $200 permit tax made the law vulnerable, since it was no longer protected by the Constitutional taxing power. In other words, somebody thought this through from early last year.
Finally, don’t worry that this turns the gun shop into a free-for-all. The registration process continues for machine guns and similar firearms considered “destructive devices” under federal law, and people still have to pass a background check and fill out the standard form confirming they are legally eligible.
Ninety-two years later, the silencer is finally quiet, and men will no longer be asked to complete embarrassing questionnaires about their short barrels.
