2026年8月13日 / 美国东部时间中午12:24 / 哥伦比亚广播公司新闻
在特朗普政府拒绝暂停本月早些时候由得克萨斯州一名法官作出的放宽此类武器监管的裁决后，部分美国民众现在无需在联邦政府登记即可持有短管步枪、霰弹枪和消音器。
美国北得克萨斯州地区联邦地区法官詹姆斯·韦斯利·亨德里克斯8月5日作出的裁决给予美国司法部一周的宽限期，以便在该裁决生效前申请暂停执行。
该最后期限于周四午夜到期。
控枪组织布雷迪协会主席克里斯·布朗表示：“如今，我们的政府正在辜负我们。午夜时分，包括消音器、短管步枪和霰弹枪在内的极具致命性的武器和装置，近一个世纪以来首次解除了监管。”
不过，美国司法部仍有时间对该裁决提起上诉。
司法部发言人在发给哥伦比亚广播公司新闻的一份声明中表示：“司法部尊重美国人的第二修正案权利，目前正在评估法院裁决的影响。”
《全国枪支法》是监管部分特种枪支及相关设备买卖的主要法律，其中包括短管步枪和消音器。该法案于1934年颁布，对这些枪支征税，并建立了监管制度，要求民众向烟酒火器与爆炸物管理局登记。
这一监管架构还有助于联邦烟酒火器与爆炸物管理局特工在调查涉枪犯罪时追踪枪支所有权链条。
2025年，国会在《宏大美好法案》中加入一项条款，规定不再对转让或制造受监管枪支收取200美元的税费。
随着该税费被取消，亨德里克斯认定《全国枪支法》针对消音器、霰弹枪和短管步枪的监管方案违宪。
他在裁决中写道：“《宏大美好法案》将‘除机枪或破坏性装置外的任何枪支’的转让税和制造税归零，这消除了《全国枪支法》对这些枪支进行监管的合宪性基础。”
控枪组织吉福德斯组织执行董事艾玛·布朗表示：“司法部的这一决定未能捍卫公共安全。”
她补充道：“国会近100年前设立了这些保障措施。因此，如今消音器、短管步枪和短管霰弹枪极少在犯罪中被使用。但现在，消音器和危险、易于隐藏的武器可以轻易落入不法分子手中，用于伤害无辜民众。”
得克萨斯州的这起诉讼合并了两起独立案件。
其中一起由B&T美国公司、枪支监管问责联盟、枪支所有者基金会、美国枪支所有者协会、帕梅特州军械库、西尔encerco武器研究公司、西尔encer商店基金会、15个由共和党控制的州以及多名个人提起。
另一起则由得克萨斯州步枪协会（美国全国步枪协会的得克萨斯州分支）、公民保有和携带武器权利委员会、FPC行动基金会、Hot Shots Custom以及其他多方提起。
法官的禁令仅适用于两起案件中的当事人，其中可能包括美国枪支所有者协会的任何成员。
美国枪支所有者协会和西尔encer商店于周四宣布，其两名成员“在未遵守目前已暂停执行的《1934年全国枪支法》登记要求的情况下，合法购买了消音器”，以此庆祝司法部决定不对该裁决申请暂停执行。
该组织补充道：“这标志着自1934年6月26日《全国枪支法》颁布以来，美国人首次可以合法购买消音器而无需遵守联邦登记制度。我们的胜利于中部时间凌晨12点01分生效，我们已通知烟酒火器与爆炸物管理局和司法部，我们将进行92年来首次未登记的消音器转让。”
目前尚不清楚司法部最终是否会对法院的命令提起上诉。
司法部长托德·布兰奇在参议院确认其职位前提交的书面答复中，回应了多个关于他个人对枪支监管看法的问题。
在其中一份答复中，他写道：“我尊重国会关于是否应废除或削弱《全国枪支法》的审慎判断。司法部的职责是捍卫本届国会通过的法律的合宪性。”
Justice Dept. leaves in place ruling that deregulates silencers, shotguns and certain rifles
August 13, 2026 / 12:24 PM EDT / CBS News
Some Americans can now possess short-barreled rifles, shotguns and silencers without registering them with the federal government, after the Trump administration declined to pause a Texas judge’s ruling issued earlier this month that deregulated those weapons.
The Aug. 5 ruling by U.S. District Judge James Wesley Hendrix of the Northern District of Texas gave the Justice Department a one-week deadline to request a stay before his ruling went into effect.
That deadline expired at midnight on Thursday.
“Today, our government is failing us,” said Kris Brown, the president of the gun-control group Brady. “At midnight, uniquely lethal weapons and devices — including silencers, short-barreled rifles, and shotguns — were deregulated for the first time in nearly a century.”
The Justice Department still has time to appeal the ruling, however.
“The Department respects Americans’ Second Amendment rights and is currently assessing the impact of the court’s ruling,” a department spokesperson told CBS News in a statement.
The National Firearms Act is the primary law that regulates the purchase and sale of certain specialized firearms and related equipment, including short-barreled rifles and silencers. Enacted in 1934, it imposes taxes on these firearms, and created a regulatory regime that requires people to register them with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
That regulatory structure also helps federal ATF agents trace the chain of firearm ownership when they are investigating gun-related crimes.
In 2025, Congress included a provision in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act that no longer requires a $200 tax to be collected when a regulated firearm is transferred or made.
With that tax eliminated, Hendrix determined that the NFA’s regulatory scheme for silencers, shotguns and short-barreled rifles is unconstitutional.
“By zeroing out the transfer and making taxes on “any firearm” except for “a machinegun or a destructive device,” the One Big Beautiful Bill Act eliminated the constitutional basis for the NFA’s regulation of those firearms,” he wrote.
“The Department of Justice’s decision is a failure to defend public safety,” said Emma Brown, the executive director for the gun-control group Giffords.
“Congress put these safeguards in place nearly 100 years ago. As a result, silencers, short-barreled rifles, and short-barreled shotguns are rarely used in crimes today. But now, silencers and dangerous, easily concealable weapons can now easily get into the wrong hands and be used to harm innocent people,” she added.
The lawsuit in Texas represents a consolidation of two separate cases.
One was brought by B&T USA, Firearms Regulatory Accountability Coalition, Gun Owners Foundation, Gun Owners of America, Palmetto State Armory, Silencerco Weapons Research, Silencer Shop Foundation, 15 Republican-controlled states and several individuals.
The other was brought by the Texas State Rifle Association (NRA’s Texas affiliate), Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, FPC Action Foundation, Hot Shots Custom, and several others.
The injunction by the judge only applies to the parties in the two cases, which could include anyone who is a member of the Gun Owners of America.
The Gun Owners of America and Silencer Shop celebrated the Justice Department’s decision not to seek a stay of the ruling on Thursday by announcing that two of its members had “lawfully acquired suppressors without complying with the currently enjoined registration requirements of the National Firearms Act of 1934.”
“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,” the group added.
It is unclear whether the Justice Department will ultimately appeal the court’s order.
Attorney General Todd Blanche, in his written responses to questions from senators ahead of his confirmation, addressed several questions about his personal beliefs on firearms regulations.
In one response to the questions, he wrote: “I defer to the measured judgment of Congress on whether the NFA should be repealed or weakened. The Department’s duty is to defend the constitutionality of the laws passed by this body.”