October 12, 2026

Last Friday afternoon, ATF Director Robert Cekada made history by rolling back far more ATF regulations than we’ve ever seen, an even greater rollback than the 34 rule changes from this spring. This is the direct result of the Silencer Shop Foundation v. ATF lawsuit, and the ATF has declared that it will apply that ruling to all Americans.

While T.REX ARMS was not a plaintiff in the suit, we did contribute to it, thanks to you. Over the years, we have supported many efforts to eliminate the NFA, and we want to thank all of you for enabling us to be in this fight for so long. But what has been achieved so far?

As of October 9th, 2026 there are no NFA requirements for the manufacture, transfer, or possession of any suppressors, short-barreled rifles, short-barreled shotguns, or “any other weapons” (not machine guns). That means no approval process, no tax stamps, and no registration. Unfortunately, since suppressors are erroneously identified as “firearms” by the 1968 Gun Control Act, they do still require a 4473 and NICS check to purchase from your local gun store, but the process is no different than transferring a pistol or rifle.

However, before you personally run out and buy a whole six-pack of cans, it’s important that you understand that many states still have restrictions. California, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, and of course Washington, D.C., still ban the ownership of suppressors outright, regardless of federal law.

And then, to make matters more confusing, Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Michigan, Mississippi, Montana, Nevada, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Washington, and Wisconsin all have some form of entangling language that makes it some level of state crime to have an NFA item without the now-unnecessary ATF paperwork.

All these state laws need immediate changes, and you should demand that your local legislators address them as soon as possible. We want to thank all state legislators who have already been working to untie state laws from federal laws and remove this entrapping grey area.

In 2017 Rep. Tilman Goins and Sen. Steve Southerland removed suppressors from Tennessee’s prohibited weapon list, and then in 2022 T.REX ARMS worked directly with Rep. Rusty Grills and the late Sen. Frank Niceley to remove short-barreled rifles and shotguns. Tennessee citizens are now free to own these items without any state OR federal entanglements, but at the time there was a surprising amount of pushback and criticism of this bill.

The ATF’s new rule announcement also includes a strong caution. This is merely an administrative enforcement policy change by its current director, and if a new presidential administration sets a new direction for the ATF, all the old NFA rules could come back into effect overnight. To complicate matters, there is no grandfathering clause, no reason to expect a grace period, and no requirement for amnesty on any federally unregistered NFA items that are currently legal.

So, do we at T.REX ARMS recommend caution? Should we wait until all the legislative efforts have been fully tried, completed, and legally tested before pursuing the rights recognized by the Second Amendment?

First, we would like to point out that even over-compliance with the existing firearms laws is no defense against tyrannical prosecutors. Rogue ATF directors and agents will always be a threat regardless of the law. They will confiscate your personal firearms if you might have sold a box of ammo to a felon, throw you in prison for 20 years if you have toy machine guns, and shoot you in your own house if they feel like you’ve bought and sold too many regular guns.

Second, the American people are getting much better at calling the DOJ’s bluff on this kind of overreach. When the ATF changed its rules to disallow up to 40 million previously legal pistol braces, Americans simply refused to comply, and the courts shut down this attempt to close a legal window that had been open for less than a decade. We believe this will be the case with NFA items as well.

Previously controlled NFA items are flying off the shelves today, and any attempt to claw back these widely owned, commonly used, and constitutionally protected items in the future will be met with scorn and disregard by American gun owners who have learned to push back against bureaucratic attempts at control.

Even if this relaxed stance on basic NFA items is a short reprieve, it’s an opportunity that we should make the most of, as we continue to chip away at every unconstitutional piece of the National Firearms Act and the entire gun control tree that has grown from its poisonous roots.