The Department of Justice (DOJ) formally told Congress on Thursday that it will not appeal a federal court ruling that ended paperwork and registration requirements for suppressors, letting a major win for gun owners stand.
The ruling was handed down on Aug. 5 by U.S. District Judge James Wesley Hendrix of the Northern District of Texas, a Trump appointee. Hendrix struck down the National Firearms Act (NFA) requirements, finding that once the transfer tax was reduced to $0, the NFA’s registration and processing requirements were rendered unconstitutional.
In a letter to Congress on Thursday, Solicitor General D. John Sauer informed lawmakers that the DOJ would not challenge the decision.
“The Department of Justice has determined not to file an appeal,” Sauer wrote.
Sauer also noted in the letter that the court had ruled out the use of the commerce clause as a justification for the registration and paperwork requirements.
The decision affects a large number of Americans. According to the latest figure posted on the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ (ATF) website, more than 6.9 million suppressors were registered under the National Firearms Act as of Sept. 3.
The National Shooting Sports Foundation reported in June that at least 6.1 million suppressors were privately owned.
The effects of the ruling are already being felt. Hendrix’s stay expired on Aug. 12, and since then, at least two suppressors have been transferred without going through the ATF’s Form 4 process.
The DOJ did not immediately respond to a request for confirmation.
The DOJ’s decision not to appeal comes after a separate ruling earlier this year from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. In that case, Comeaux v. United States, decided June 18, the appeals court ruled that suppressors fall under the category of “arms” and are protected by the Second Amendment.
However, the Fifth Circuit also found that the NFA works much like a “shall issue” concealed-carry permit law, under which authorities are required to grant a permit as long as certain criteria are met. On that basis, the court allowed a conviction for possessing an unregistered suppressor to stand.
Hendrix’s ruling went further, striking down the registration and processing requirements altogether after the transfer tax was reduced to $0.
With the DOJ now formally declining to appeal, the August ruling will remain in place. Sauer’s letter to Congress makes clear that the department has chosen not to fight the decision in a higher court.
The move marks a significant development for the millions of suppressor owners across the country. The ATF’s own figures show more than 6.9 million suppressors registered under the NFA, and with the registration and paperwork requirements struck down, at least two transfers have already taken place without the ATF’s Form 4 process.
The ruling and the DOJ’s decision to let it stand come amid broader legal debate over how the Second Amendment applies to suppressors, with the Fifth Circuit having already recognized them as protected “arms” in June.
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