For years, gun owners were told that relief was coming.
A Republican House.
A vastly improved Trump Administration.And yet, here we are.
In Silencer Shop Foundation v. ATF, Attorney General Pam Bondi’s Department of Justice is actively defending the constitutionality of the National Firearms Act — including the federal gun registry that tracks law-abiding Americans who own suppressors, short-barreled rifles, and other NFA items.
Let that sink in.
Even after Congress reduced the $200 NFA tax stamp to $0 on certain items through a single, watered-down amendment to the so-called “One Big Beautiful Bill,” the DOJ is still defending the registry that underpins the entire scheme.
The tax may be gone.
The registration database is not.
Bondi’s DOJ Defends the Registry
Gun owners were told that eliminating the $200 tax would gut the NFA’s constitutional foundation. After all, the NFA was justified in 1934 as a taxing measure. No tax, no authority — right?
Wrong.
Bondi’s DOJ is now arguing in federal court that the NFA survives regardless — relying not just on taxing authority, but on the Commerce Clause and “necessary and proper” arguments to preserve the registry and its regulatory structure.
In other words, even if Congress zeroes out the tax, the federal government still wants to track, regulate, and prosecute Americans over firearms that are in common lawful use.
That’s not deregulation.
That’s preservation of the same federal control — minus the $200 fee.
Andrew Clyde Calls It Out
At a recent House Judiciary Committee hearing, Congressman Andrew Clyde confronted Bondi directly.
Clyde pressed the Attorney General on why the Department of Justice continues to defend a registry that many constitutional scholars argue should collapse if the tax justification disappears.
Bondi declined to commit to withdrawing the defense.
Clyde’s message was clear: If Congress acted to reduce the tax to zero, the DOJ should not be fighting to preserve the underlying registration regime.
But so far, that’s exactly what it’s doing.
Congress Isn’t Doing Much Either
Let’s be honest.
Outside of passing a severely neutered amendment to remove the $200 tax stamp on certain NFA items, Congress has largely done nothing meaningful for the pro-gun Americans who put them in office.
They didn’t repeal the NFA.
They didn’t dismantle the registry.
They didn’t abolish the ATF.
They didn’t pass National Constitutional Carry.
Congress even cowered on passing an extremely watered down national concealed carry reciprocity bill.
In fact, when it came time to vote on appropriations, Congress voted to keep the ATF funded at near Biden-era levels.
Yes — even after years of agency abuse, forced reset trigger raids, pistol brace rulemaking, and regulatory overreach.
The message from Washington seems to be: trim around the edges, but don’t touch the machinery.
Half-Measures Aren’t Good Enough
There is no question this Trump Administration is vastly improved compared to the Biden years, or even Trump’s first term.
But improvement is not repeal.
And trimming a tax while preserving a federal gun registry is not restoration of constitutional rights.
If the NFA registry survives, the enforcement mechanism survives.
If the enforcement mechanism survives, future anti-gun administrations won’t need to rebuild anything.
They’ll simply pick up where the last one left off.
That’s why gun owners cannot afford to sit back and assume the fight is over.
Texas Gun Rights will continue shining a light on every court filing, every funding vote, and every backroom compromise that leaves federal gun control intact.
We’re pushing for unapologetic, aggressive reform — not cosmetic adjustments.
Chip in to Texas Gun Rights today to help hold every politician accountable — without compromise.
