Texas federal courts strike down ATF ghost gun and suppressor regulations

Federal courts in Texas have issued significant rulings impacting firearm regulations. In Defense Distributed v. Blanche, U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor found that certain Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) regulations regarding “ghost guns”—specifically unfinished firearm frames, receivers, and “buy-build-shoot” kits—were unconstitutional. The court ruled the regulations were impermissibly vague and violated due process principles, granting an injunction against enforcement for the named plaintiffs.

In a separate ruling, U.S. District Judge James Wesley Hendrix struck down registration and paperwork requirements for suppressors mandated by the National Firearms Act (NFA). The ruling took effect in mid-August after the Department of Justice declined to seek an extension of a stay. While gun control advocates, including Brady United, have criticized these decisions as dismantling crime safeguards, proponents argue the rulings protect constitutional rights and remove unnecessary administrative burdens.