Suppressors for everybody!/Wikipedia
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced on Oct. 2 that it will not appeal a Texas Federal Court ruling striking down nearly century-old protections on silencers, short-barreled rifles and shotguns, and other dangerous firearms or devices in the National Firearms Act (NFA).
For more than 90 years, those types of weapons and devices have been heavily regulated because they are generally considered to be particularly dangerous. Under the 1934 NFA, anyone wishing to sell, possess or manufacture a firearm or device covered by the law has had to submit a detailed written application to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. They have also had to be fingerprinted and were required to register the weapons, which must be engraved with serial numbers, with the ATF.
By refusing to appeal, the DOJ has ceded its duty to defend the 1934 federal law, which has already led to dismissed criminal indictments and left federal prosecutors pursuing firearms cases under the NFA in limbo.
“This decision is a failure to defend public safety,” said GIFFORDS Executive Director Emma Brown in a statement. “Congress put these safeguards in place nearly 100 years ago for a reason. The Trump Administration could bring us back to the days of Al Capone, when silencers and short-barreled shotguns were used in organized crime to terrorize the public. This decision creates a loophole in federal law via membership in the nation’s most extreme gun groups, fueling gun industry bottom lines, while upending public safety.”