Gun groups ask court to overturn ‘perilous precedent’ in suppressor registration case
A coalition of pro-gun organizations, including the National Rifle Association (NRA), the american Suppressor Association, and the Independence Institute, has filed a legal brief with the U.S.court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. They are requesting an en banc (full court) review too overturn a ruling that upheld the requirement to register suppressors (silencers) under the National Firearms Act (NFA). The groups argue that the panel’s decision conflicts with Supreme Court precedent, specifically the 2022 ruling in *New York rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen*, which mandates that gun regulations must align with the nation’s historical traditions.
the brief contends that requiring registration for suppressors sets a dangerous precedent that could allow governments to demand registration for all firearms without meeting the Supreme Court’s text-and-history test for Second Amendment challenges. NRA officials warn that historically, firearm registration has led to confiscation and express concern that this ruling risks enabling expansive registration schemes.
this legal move is part of a broader push by gun rights advocates to challenge registration requirements embedded in the NFA,especially after recent legislative changes (the One Big Stunning bill Act) eliminated related taxes that previously necessitated registration. These efforts include separate lawsuits aiming to invalidate registration mandates as obsolete due to the tax repeal.
Gun groups ask court to overturn ‘perilous precedent’ in suppressor registration case
A coalition of pro-gun groups has filed a brief with a federal appeals court, asking them to reconsider a ruling upholding the registration requirement for suppressors under the National Firearms Act.
The National Rifle Association, American Suppressor Association, and Independence Institute filed an amicus brief in an effort to convince the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit to consider an en banc review of a case involving an unregistered suppressor and overturn what it calls a “perilous precedent.”
The groups claimed the three-judge panel on the Fifth Circuit had erred in finding the registration requirement was constitutional under the Supreme Court’s precedents, including in its 2022 ruling in New York Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen, where the high court found gun regulations must conform with the country’s history and tradition of gun laws.
“By upholding registration requirements for suppressors while assuming they are protected arms, the logical extension of the decision is that the government may require the registration of all arms—and without needing to satisfy the Supreme Court’s test for Second Amendment challenges,” the brief said.
“The Supreme Court has repeatedly stated that its text-and-history test applies to all firearm regulations. The panel, however, made a series of errors that led it to the conclusion that the Supreme Court’s test does not apply to firearm registration laws,” the brief continued.
John Commerford, executive director of the NRA’s Institute for Legislative Action, claimed that history has shown “firearms registration has led to confiscation” and expressed concern over the Fifth Circuit’s ruling.
“In its decision in United States v. Peterson, the Fifth Circuit panel made grievous errors that not only contradict the Supreme Court’s ruling in NYSRPA v Bruen, but also run the risk of greenlighting any firearm registration scheme,” Commerford said. “The NRA is proud to join with other civil rights advocacy groups to urge the full 5th circuit to reconsider this case and ensure that Second Amendment freedoms are protected.”
Pro-gun groups have recently increased their efforts to strike down registration requirements embedded in the National Firearms Act, after the One Big Beautiful Bill Act repealed several of the taxes regarding the registration of regulated weapons.
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Last month a coalition of groups announced a “Big Beautiful Lawsuit” seeking to overturn the nearly century old NFA regulations requiring registration of weapons by pointing to the OBBB Act changing the law to no longer tax the items, which required registration.
The NRA filed a similar, but broader, lawsuit also taking aim at the registration requirements, attempting to strike them down as moot because the taxes associated with them — the making and transfer tax on silencers, short-barreled rifles, short-barreled shotguns, and “any other weapons” — have been slashed to $0.
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