Pro-Second Amendment groups have expressed mixed reactions to the Department of Justice (DOJ) seeking summary judgment in a legal challenge to the National Firearms Act (NFA). The controversy follows a reconciliation bill signed by President Donald Trump in July 2025 that reduced taxes on suppressors, short-barreled rifles, short-barreled shotguns, and firearms classified as “any other weapon” to zero, after the Senate parliamentarian removed language excluding these items from NFA coverage.

Some advocates argue that this tax reduction renders the NFA provisions unconstitutional. Erich Pratt, Senior Vice President of Gun Owners of America, told the Daily Caller News Foundation, “In both cases, the Department of Justice is defending a law that has no basis in the Constitution, its text, or our nation’s history. Instead of wasting taxpayer dollars defending an unpopular and unconstitutional law, the Administration should have sided with the plaintiffs and acknowledged that the NFA violates the Second Amendment.”

Despite frustrations, a top administration official described such criticism as misplaced. Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon stated in a June interview, “I understand people have policy differences with DOJ’s enforcement of federal laws, but, in my opinion, and I’ve said this to many gun groups, the appropriate place to launch those policy discussions is in Congress, not with us. We have, I mean, not me, but other people in this building regularly respond to all kinds of litigation on behalf of the United States where I don’t necessarily agree with what we’re defending.”

Further clarifying the DOJ’s role, Kraut said, “Ultimately it is Congress’ job to pass laws, the Executive Branch’s job to enforce them and the federal courts’ job to interpret their constitutionality. The Department of Justice is tasked with enforcing and defending the constitutionality of laws passed by Congress, including those that any particular administration may disagree with, and even if they conclude they might not ultimately prevail in its defense.”

Kraut also referenced the Biden Administration’s DOJ defending the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act despite President Biden’s personal opposition to the law, illustrating the DOJ’s obligation to defend enacted legislation.

The National Rifle Association, Second Amendment Foundation, and Firearms Policy Coalition argued in an August 2025 complaint that Congress passed the NFA based on its constitutional authority to "lay and collect Taxes," a basis upheld by the Supreme Court, which described the NFA as "only a taxing measure" with registration provisions “obviously supportable as in aid of a revenue purpose.”

Sources