A bold brief, recently filed by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) in a case challenging the National Firearms Act (NFA), has one gun-rights organization sounding an alarm.
According to Gun Owners of America (GOA), on November 20, the DOJ, in the case Silencer Shop Foundation v. ATF, filed an “outrageous brief that embraces an alarmingly expansive theory of federal authority.” That assertion runs directly afoul of President Donald Trump’s promise to protect the Second Amendment for all Americans.
In responding to GOA and GOF’s “One Big Beautiful Lawsuit,” the DOJ treats Congress’ removal of the historic $200 tax as a pretext to rewrite the limits of congressional power, advancing an argument that would open the door to federal regulation far beyond anything the Framers intended.
“GOA and GOF condemn Attorney General Pam Bondi and President Trump’s Department of Justice (DOJ) for doubling down on enforcement of an archaic and unconstitutional law while simultaneously offering legal theories that would expand federal power to historic levels,” GOA said in a news release revealing the DOJ’s actions. “This is especially striking from an administration that had promised to respect the Second Amendment and review burdensome agency rules.”
As GOA further explained, the implications of the DOJ’s stance are immediate and ominous.
“If the brief’s logic is accepted, courts could bless a framework under which Congress and federal agencies regulate—or effectively ban—common firearms and accessories by treating formalistic features (like a $0 tax) as sufficient legal cover,” GOA stated. “That outcome would run contrary to recent Supreme Court statements that the Second Amendment protects private arms possession.”
GOA and its partners are demanding that the DOJ publicly explain and retract all portions of the brief that advance a “limitless theory of federal power.”
They are also calling on members of Congress who claim fidelity to constitutional limits to demand that the DOJ abandon this dangerous theory.
“This brief is federal overreach on steroids,” said Erich Pratt, GOA senior vice president. “If courts accept the government’s argument, Congress could claim the power to regulate virtually anything, including firearms, on the thinnest of statutory pretexts. That’s not conservative jurisprudence. This is authoritarianism cloaked in legalese. Make no mistake, this reads exactly like something the Biden administration would have produced.”
Speaking for his organization, Gun Owners Foundation Executive Vice President John Velleco said his organization was surprised by the DOJ’s brief and the stance it takes.
“We weren’t exactly optimistic about the Department of Justice’s reply in our One, Big, Beautiful Lawsuit, but the brief they filed was far worse than anything we anticipated,” Velleco said. “We had hoped Attorney General Pam Bondi and the Trump Administration would seize this moment to become the most pro–Second Amendment presidency in history, but so far they’ve fumbled the ball. We will continue to fight to gut the National Firearms Act, and we’re confident our legal arguments will stand.”
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