Trump Directs DOJ to Skip Appeal on Ruling Relaxing ‘Gangster Weapon’ Restrictions

WASHINGTON — President Trump has instructed the Department of Justice to forgo an appeal of a federal court ruling that significantly loosened restrictions on firearms commonly referred to as “gangster weapons,” according to sources familiar with the decision. The move effectively permits some Americans to possess or sell short-barreled rifles, short-barreled shotguns, and silencers with reduced federal oversight.

For nearly a century, these categories of firearms have been subject to stringent regulations under the National Firearms Act of 1934 due to their potential for concealment and perceived danger. Under current law, individuals seeking to manufacture, sell, or possess such items must submit detailed applications to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), undergo fingerprinting, and register the weapons with serial numbers engraved on them.

In August, U.S. District Judge James Wesley Hendrix, a Trump appointee in the Northern District of Texas, ruled that most provisions of the National Firearms Act are unconstitutional, with the exception of restrictions on two specific categories of specialized firearms. Sources indicated that the president personally made the decision against appealing the ruling and has informed Republican members of Congress during recent calls that he would ensure the Justice Department does not contest the decision.

The directive conflicts with the advice of career and politically appointed attorneys across multiple DOJ offices who opposed the judge’s opinion. Several sources stated that these lawyers have warned the ruling is already having a negative impact on federal firearms prosecutions nationwide. Additionally, the decision appears to contradict the DOJ’s long-standing “duty to defend” principle, which obligates the department to uphold laws enacted by Congress when reasonable legal arguments support them.

The lawsuit was brought by 15 Republican-led states alongside Second Amendment advocacy groups, including the Gun Owners of America and the Gun Owners Foundation. While the injunction technically applies only to the parties involved, Judge Hendrix extended its protections to current and future members of the plaintiff gun groups. Membership in organizations such as the Gun Owners of America costs $25 annually.

The ruling does not affect the sale of standard commercial firearms like AR-15s or Glock pistols, which are regulated under separate federal statutes. Prohibitions on gun ownership for convicted felons remain in force for purchasers of the affected weapon types. Machine guns and explosive devices also remain heavily regulated under the original 1934 statute.

Judge Hendrix based his decision on a provision in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act passed by Congress last year, which eliminated a $200 tax on transfers or manufacturing of National Firearms Act-regulated weapons. “Because today’s NFA does not generate any revenue from untaxed firearms, its regulatory provisions cannot be upheld under the taxing power,” Hendrix wrote. “Thus, the regulatory provisions must be enjoined as unconstitutional because they exceed Congress’s enumerated powers.”

DOJ attorneys had argued that the government retains authority to regulate these weapons under the Commerce Clause and noted that a separate tax on businesses manufacturing or dealing in such weapons remains in place. However, one source suggested that some Justice Department lawyers are more concerned about their litigation win-loss records than policy outcomes, dismissing warnings about the ruling’s consequences as scare tactics.

The failure to seek a stay of the injunction earlier drew criticism from gun control advocates. The deadline to file an appeal is October 5. The ruling has already caused disruptions in federal courts; in the Middle District of Alabama, prosecutors recently dismissed an indictment against Cameron Silmon on charges related to an unregistered silencer after his defense team argued the Texas injunction applied due to his membership in a plaintiff gun group.

Emma Brown, executive director of the gun control organization GIFFORDS, criticized the administration’s stance. “The Trump Administration could bring us back to the days of Al Capone, where silencers and short-barreled shotguns were used to recklessly kill people,” Brown told CBS News, calling the decision a “failure to defend public safety.”

Historically, NFA-regulated firearms account for a small fraction of crime scene evidence. An ATF report indicated that between 2017 and 2021, such weapons comprised only about 5% of closed gun-trafficking investigations. However, high-profile cases, such as the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson by Luigi Mangione, have highlighted the use of silencers.

If the DOJ does not appeal, other entities such as states or counties may attempt to intervene and pursue their own appeals. Congress could also reinstate the tax or enact new legislation, though doing so would likely require a shift in partisan control of the House and Senate. Jeffrey Cohen, former associate chief counsel at the ATF, noted the historic nature of the potential outcome: “The ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ provision that quietly zeroed out the tax may ultimately do what no court, no Congress, and no administration has done in ninety years: eliminate the National Firearms Act, one of the primary American gun laws.”