Is the NFA Dead?

In this episode we discuss that most recent developments around the injunction that says it is no longer required to register items such as suppressors and short barreled rifles.

subscribe to my newsletter

Follow this link and get $25 in ammo.

Fountain Podcast App
Follow me on Fountain


Follow twitter @JeffDowdle
Follow me on Truth Social - @JeffDowdle

Convention of States Project
Presearch search engine sign up.
Brave Browser

Find our Representative
email me at jeff@livetoshoot.com

Transcript

0:14

Welcome to the Live to Shoot podcast. My name is Jeff Dowdle, and I've been a licensed firearm dealer for the last 19 years, and this podcast will talk about all things related to the Second Amendment a sports story, anything else going on in the world, or anything I find interesting. So welcome, welcome, welcome. I am jumping on for a quick podcast here. This is not what I talked about, what I planned on talking about this week. But, uh, we did, uh, we have scored a major win in the Second Amendment, and we talked a, we... You know, this has been developing over the last week. But the federal court in, in the Fifth District of Texas has essentially overturned the NFA as it pertains to suppressors and short-barreled rifles. And what I mean by that, well, a lawsuit was brought by the Gun Owners of America, Gun Owners Foundation, Silencer Shop Palmetto State Armory, Silencer Co., B&T Firearm Regulatory Council, and a variety of different states, including Texas, that since the big beautiful bill, uh, removed the $200 tax on NFA items, that the registration process was also should no longer exist. And they ruled, uh, they challenged it on a couple things, one of it just being unconstitutional based on the Second Amendment. But the, the, you know, when the judge looked at it, he didn't even get to the, uh, Second Amendment case. He just realized that this just didn't make sense, that if the tax no longer existed, the paperwork associated with the tax should no longer exist. And so, the judge, uh, James Wesley Hendrix, ruled, uh, last week that this was, uh, would, uh, no longer be, be required, and he put in a permanent injunction on the ATF for requiring that to go forward. Uh, he did give the s- uh, government seven days, uh, which expired last night, to challenge this or the permanent injunction would go into effect. Th- they did not challenge it. The permanent injunction is now in effect. The government does have 60 days still to appeal this, uh, which could shake things up. But the question now, and it's a question, is what now? And does that mean y- we can just go out and buy suppressors and, um, not have to do the Form 4, fingerprints, passport photo, all of those, or, or what? On the surface it would appear so, but again, things are not as straightforward as we would like them to be. So the first thing is you have to be a party to this lawsuit. And, uh, the lawsuit was brought by Gun Owners of America, Gun Owners Foundation, Silencer Shop, Palmetto State Armory, Silencer Co, B&T Firearms Regulatory Accoun- Accountability Coalition Brady Wett, who's an individual, and 15 states, Alaska, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Montana, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, West Virginia, and Wyoming. So Right now, you know, some of the common statements are, you know, if you're a member of Gun Owners of America, for example, you are a plaintiff in this case, and you can now... You participate in the results of this case. Uh, the- some of the outstanding questions, though, is that past members, current members, anybody going forward, so can you, if you're not now, but you join are you protected by that? Then all these states are... Does that mean every resident of the state is a participant, or I've heard other interpret- interpretations that that's not necessarily the case. There's also ambig- a- ambiguity around short-barreled rifles because, uh, there are other statutes out there outside of the tax code, which is where the $200 tax and this lawsuit pertain around registering your short-barreled rifle or short-barreled shotgun. I think right now the prevailing wisdom is that right now SBRs and SBSs aren't included in this because of that other language in the federal code. And then obviously, if you're in a state that outlaws silencers or suppressors, uh, how does that affect you? And I'm looking at this as a individual and also as an FFL. So I wanna give you what I am doing as an FFL right now. I am waiting on guidance and I think a lot of FFLs will probably be doing the same thing. Um, I'm gonna be emailing it my ATF contact this morning asking, "Does the ATF have guidance on how to do this? What documentation do I need to provide if I do a f- just a normal transfer?" And that's the other key thing. It does still mean that these are s- these suppressors are firearms, and so you still have to go through the normal process of transferring a firearm, which is the 4473, a background check if needed et cetera. But what other documentation do I need? Do I need to sh- make a copy of their Gun Owners of America membership card showing that it is current and active? Or is it just that they're a resident of, let's say, my state, Texas? Is that, uh, sufficient? If I have it, if it, if the suppressor is currently on a Form 3, meaning that it's been registered and transferred to me, do I have to do a Form 4 to get it off of that Form 3, or can I just transfer it and leave it on that Form 3 showing that- Uh, it is still in my possession as, as, as, uh, the registered owner. A lot of questions and, the consequences can be it's a felony if, if we don't do this correctly. And so, um, I'm putting this out there asking people, you know, at least here in the next few days, few weeks, let's tread cautiously. I'm gonna do my best to get as much clear answers as I can from my customers and, um, I will be updating you all periodically, but it is good news. Overall, it is good news, and we have to thank the Trump administration because they chose not to appeal this which means that they, uh, recognize that that this is the case. And despite the fact that, it couldn't be put into the big beautiful bill, and there was other reasons why this particular language couldn't be done in the bill when they originally passed it. Um, but now that these lawsuits are challenging it and it, it's starting to become apparent that the Department of Justice isn't gonna challenge it. They're going to acknowledge that, yes, the, uh, NFA is s- essentially null and void for suppressors right now as it stands. But again, it's not nationwide. This is only for members of the, the, the lawsuit. Um, and again, there are states out there that it does not impact because of their state laws. So more to come. I am, I have probably more questions than I have answers, but again, this is good news, and we will be, uh, updating you more as we go along. But celebrate, but tread cautiously. Don't just rush out. You know, contact your local FFL, contact me. Um, I'm gonna refer you to this podcast probably because this is, right now I'm just seeking guidance. And we will go from there. But celebrate. Big win. Big win. Hopefully, things will keep this momentum going forward and get this across the country and in all 50 states. So celebrate. Thank you. Have a good day, and keep fighting for the Second Amendment.