An email arrived in my inbox Thursday morning with the subject line blaring: "2A Victory Party at Midnight!! No Feds Allowed."
I clicked through to find out that two gentlemen had walked into a Leander, Texas, store called the Silencer Shop around midnight Central Time, and – at exactly 12:01 AM Thursday – acquired suppressors without filling out "Form 4 or complying with the other enjoined provisions of the National Firearms Act."
The Gun Owners of America (GOA) said in a press release, "This marks the first time since the NFA was enacted on June 26, 1934, that Americans can lawfully acquire suppressors without complying with the federal registration scheme. Our victory went into effect at 12:01 A.M. CT and we notified ATF and DOJ that we intended to conduct the first unregistered suppressor transfer in 92 years."
And there's video of the two men, GOA members Brandon Herrera and Wes Virdell, completing the transaction.
🚨BREAKING🚨
— Gun Owners of America (@GunOwners) August 13, 2026
It is 12:01 am on August 13th, 2026. @TheAKGuy & @WesVirdellTX are purchasing the first unregistered suppressors from @SilencerShop.
These GOA members will not be filing a Form 4 or complying with the other enjoined provisions of the National Firearms Act.🔥 https://t.co/gtVefNcxxy pic.twitter.com/mmuXEotv7z
The GOA press release provides some important historic context:
A major Second Amendment victory may just result in the implosion of the 92-year-old National Firearms Act (NFA), after the DOJ missed a key deadline to file an appeal. A federal judge ruled that the government exceeded its constitutional taxing authority in enforcing key provisions of the law. Stephen Willeford, the citizen who stopped the Sutherland Springs mass shooter in 2017, and Gun Owners of America (GOA) spokesman, is at the center of that fight. He now represents an organization that is a named plaintiff in this monumental victory.
The historic victory moved from the courtroom to reality just after midnight on August 13, when GOA members Brandon Herrera and Wes Virdell became the first Americans since 1934 to lawfully acquire suppressors without NFA registration. Caught on video ... the transfers took place at Silencer Shop in Leander, Texas, with GOA Senior Vice President Erich Pratt and Congressman Andrew Clyde on hand to witness the 12:01 a.m. milestone. The unprecedented transactions put a 92-year-old federal registration regime into practice—and demonstrated just how dramatically the Second Amendment landscape has shifted following the court’s injunction.
As RedState reported back on August 5, a federal judge in Texas "ruled that large portions of the National Firearms Act (NFA) were rendered unconstitutional after Congress eliminated the transfer tax that had historically provided the constitutional basis for registration and recordkeeping requirements governing suppressors, short-barreled rifles, and short-barreled shotguns."
READ MORE: New: Federal Judge Deals Crushing Blow to NFA Rules on Short-Barreled Shotguns and Suppressors
Republican Rep. Andrew Clyde (GA-09) tweeted Wednesday evening that the Department of Justice (DOJ) was not going to appeal the court injunction and intended to let the midnight deadline pass.
🚨 BREAKING: I’ve received confirmation from the Trump Administration that the DOJ will NOT appeal our historic court victory against the NFA.
— Rep. Andrew Clyde (@Rep_Clyde) August 13, 2026
THANK YOU, PRESIDENT TRUMP and Attorney General Blanche, for delivering the most significant Second Amendment win in OVER 90 YEARS!
There's a big caveat to note here: Because the court injunction applied to “the plaintiffs and, where applicable, the plaintiffs’ agencies, political subdivisions, members, and customers—both current and future,” it looks like only certain people can now acquire suppressors without complying with the enjoined NFA provisions – namely, those who fall within the protected classes covered by the lawsuit.
Editor’s Note: President Trump and Republicans across the country are doing everything they can to protect our Second Amendment rights and right to self-defense.
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