The Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) and its partners have filed a supplemental reply brief in Brown v. ATF, one of the organization's three lawsuits challenging the constitutionality of the National Firearms Act's registration requirements for short-barreled firearms and silencers.
Prior to President Trump signing the One Big Beautiful Bill, people wanting to purchase silencers and short-barreled rifles had to pay a $200 tax and register the firearm with the government. The One Big Beautiful Bill, however, eliminated the tax but left the registration requirement in place. SAF and its partners have now filed three separate cases challenging this remaining registration scheme.
"This reply brief gave us the perfect opportunity to rebut the government's arguments in support of the NFA," said SAF Director of Legal Operations Bill Sack. "We were encouraged the court requested targeted supplemental briefing that addressed key elements of the proper Second Amendment analysis. In our principle brief we laid out in detail why the answer to every question posed supported our position. And now with this reply brief we have driven home the point and dismantled each of the government's arguments to the contrary."
SAF is joined in Brown v. ATF by the American Suppressor Association, National Rifle Association, Firearms Policy Coalition, Prime Protection STL Tactical Boutique and two private citizens.
"For nearly a century the government has used the NFA to disenfranchise law-abiding Americans and it's high time this infringement be righted," said SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb. "Citizens across the country own more than 5 million silencers and countless short-barreled rifles. Registering your guns with the same government the Second Amendment is intended to protect you from runs contrary to the fundamental principles of the right to keep and bear arms. More than 90 years of constitutional injury is enough – it's time to strike this one down."
For more information visit SAF.org.
The Second Amendment Foundation (saf.org) is the nation's oldest and largest tax-exempt education, research, publishing and legal action group dedicated to safeguarding and promoting the fundamental rights of individuals enshrined in the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution. SAF engages in aggressive legal action to ensure the principles of armed self-defense, personal liberty, and the ownership of arms are defended, secured, and restored. Through public education initiatives, SAF teaches the importance of the Second Amendment to promote a society that values and exercises the right to keep and bear arms.