Today, the National Rifle Association announced the filing of a third lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the National Firearms Act of 1934 (NFA). The case, Roberts v. ATF, was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky.
Originally, the NFA imposed a $200 tax and established a tax-enforcement registration regime for certain classes of firearms. But President Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBB) eliminated this tax for suppressors, short-barreled rifles, short-barreled shotguns, and NFA-defined “any other weapons,” leaving only the registration requirement in place. The complaint in Roberts argues that because the tax has been eliminated, the NFA’s registration regime can no longer be justified under Congress’s taxing power—nor any other authority granted under Article I of the Constitution.
The complaint also asserts that the NFA’s registration regime for suppressors and short-barreled rifles violates the Second Amendment. The Supreme Court has established that any regulation on arms-bearing conduct must be consistent with our nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation. And, the complaint argues, there is no tradition that supports the NFA’s registration regime for protected arms such as suppressors and short-barreled rifles.
The plaintiffs in the case include the Buckeye Firearms Association, American Suppressor Association Foundation, Center for Human Liberty, Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership, Meridian Ordnance, and two individuals. The case represents the third lawsuit supported by the National Rifle Association, American Suppressor Association, Firearms Policy Coalition, and Second Amendment Foundation challenging the NFA since the OBBB eliminated the tax for NFA items. Roberts builds upon Brown v. ATF, which was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri in August 2025, and Jensen v. ATF, which was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas in October 2025.
Please stay tuned to www.nraila.org for future updates on NRA-ILA’s ongoing efforts to defend your constitutional rights, and please visit www.nraila.org/litigation to keep up to date on NRA-ILA’s ongoing litigation efforts.
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