Federal judge muzzles mafia-era law restricting suppressors and some firearms

Published August 5, 2026 10:17pm ET



A federal judge in Texas on Wednesday ruled that key provisions of a nearly century-old federal firearms law can no longer be enforced, finding that Congress lost the constitutional basis for regulating suppressors and certain short-barreled firearms after eliminating the tax that originally justified the restrictions.

U.S. District Judge James Hendrix, a President Donald Trump appointee, issued a permanent injunction barring enforcement of portions of the National Firearms Act governing suppressors, also known as silencers, as well as short-barreled rifles and short-barreled shotguns.

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