Late last night, it happened again. The Department of Justice—calling itself the “most pro–Second Amendment DOJ ever”—filed a massive 48-page brief defending the National Firearms Act in the high-stakes lawsuit Silencer Shop Foundation v. ATF. And the lengths they went to in order to keep the NFA alive reveal exactly how the federal government plans to protect gun control during the Trump presidency, even as Congress moves to dismantle it.

This case may become the most important Second Amendment battle in nearly a century—and what the DOJ just filed makes that clearer than ever.

Filed moments after President Trump signed the One Big Beautiful Bill on July 4, 2025, Silencer Shop Foundation v. ATF challenges the NFA’s regulations on:

• Suppressors
• Short-barreled rifles (SBRs)
• Short-barreled shotguns (SBSs)
• “Any Other Weapons” (AOWs)

The plaintiffs argue that because the bill zeroed out the NFA’s taxes, the entire regulatory structure collapses. If Congress removed the tax, they argue, the federal government no longer has the constitutional authority to enforce registration, approvals, and criminal penalties.

The lawsuit is a facial challenge—meaning the plaintiffs claim the NFA is unconstitutional in every circumstance for everyone.