ST. LOUIS (August 1, 2025) — Today, the Firearms Policy Coalition announced a major new lawsuit, Brown v. ATF, challenging the federal National Firearms Act (NFA) of 1934. FPC is joined in the case by two individuals and one retailer, as well as the American Suppressor Association, National Rifle Association, and Second Amendment Foundation. Key case documents for the lawsuit are available at firearmspolicy.org/brown.
This important case challenges the NFA on two separate grounds. First, the plaintiffs claim, the NFA exceeds the limited, enumerated powers granted to Congress in Article I of the Constitution. Moreover, they say, the NFA also violates the right to keep and bear arms protected under the Second Amendment. The challengers are seeking a declaratory judgment and an injunction against the government’s enforcement of the NFA with respect to some NFA firearms which are now untaxed due to the recently enacted One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
Brown closely follows FPC’s recently filed challenge to New Jersey’s ban on so-called “short-barreled rifles” in FPC v. Platkin, as well as its challenge to the NFA’s suppressor regulations in United States v. Peterson, and the end of the Biden ATF pistol brace ban rule that was vacated through FPC’s Mock v. Garland case.
“The National Firearms Act isn’t just unconstitutional, it’s a tyrannical abomination,” said Firearms Policy Coalition President Brandon Combs. “Not only does the NFA violate your Second Amendment rights, but Congress never had the lawful authority to pass it in the first place. That makes it a double abuse of power, violating both the right to keep and bear arms and the hard limits the Constitution places on the federal government. We’re proud to fight alongside our allies to end this corrupt, immoral law so peaceable Americans can exercise their rights when, where, and how they choose.”
“The National Firearms Act has been a weight around the neck of law-abiding gun owners for nearly a century,” said Knox Williams, President and Executive Director American Suppressor Association. “With the elimination of the excise tax on suppressors, short-barreled rifles, short-barreled shotguns, and AOWs through the One Big Beautiful Bill, our lawsuit challenges the NFA as an unconstitutional registry of now untaxed firearms. Common sense and the law are on our side, and we look forward to fighting on behalf of all Americans in Federal Court.”
“The National Firearms Act has infringed on law-abiding Americans’ right to keep and bear arms for nearly a century,” said John Commerford, Executive Director of the NRA Institute for Legislative Action. “Congress took a major step by eliminating the NFA tax on suppressors and short-barreled firearms through the OBBB, and we’re proud to work alongside other leading Second Amendment organizations to finish the job.”
“The National Firearms Act’s registration scheme only exists to ensure that the tax on NFA firearms was paid,” said Adam Kraut, SAF’s Executive Director. “With Congress removing the tax on silencers, short-barreled firearms, and ‘any other weapons,’ the continued inclusion of these items in the NFA serves no purpose, except continuing to retain an impermissible hurdle to the exercise of one’s constitutional right to keep and bear arms. We look forward to relegating this unconstitutional law to the history books.”
To support this and dozens of other important lawsuits to end unconstitutional bans and eliminate gun control laws across the country, join the FPC Grassroots Army at JoinFPC.org.
The plaintiffs are represented by Cooper & Kirk. FPC thanks the FPC Action Foundation for its strategic support of this FPC Law case.
About Firearms Policy Coalition
Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC) — a 501(c)(4) nonprofit membership organization — exists to create a world of maximal individual liberty, defend constitutional rights, and restore the freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution. FPC pursues these goals through strategic litigation, legal scholarship, amicus briefing, legislative and regulatory advocacy, grassroots activism, education, and outreach. FPC’s legal arm, FPC Law, is the nation’s leading initiative dedicated to restoring the right to keep and bear arms across the United States. To learn more about FPC’s lawsuits and pro–Second Amendment efforts, sign up for FPC news alerts at firearmspolicy.org and follow FPC on X, Instagram, and Facebook.
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