Silencer Shop Foundation vs. the NFA

When software engineer Dave Matheny founded Silencer Shop in 2010, he wasn’t trying to disrupt the industry, he just wanted to protect his son’s hearing. Matheny’s son was born deaf in one ear. As a caring father, he wanted to safeguard his remaining hearing while enjoying a shooting and hunting lifestyle. His suppressor-­buying experience was so negative that he started his own business to simplify the process. Silencer Shop has become an industry leader. With such success comes responsibility, so Matheny and his team decided to make a difference in protecting the rights of Americans.

Silencer Shop has been quietly working to advance the cause of suppressor rights for years. Until recently, though, that work wasn’t public. When President Donald Trump signed H.R. 1, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, Matheny felt it was time to take definitive action. 

One of the outcomes of H.R. 1 was to eliminate the $200 transfer tax imposed on most National Firearms Act (NFA) items — suppressors included. On July 4, 2025, the Silencer Shop Foundation — along with industry partners such as SilencerCo — filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas against the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE) and the Department of Justice (DOJ). The suit challenges the NFA’s regulations pertaining to suppressors and other NFA items that are no longer taxed as of January 1, 2026. The lawsuit, which has been joined by 15 states, challenges the NFA on the basis that it was imposed as a tax law. Without the tax, the accompanying regulatory elements of the bill should not exist.

The complaint asks the court to do the following:

1. Declare that the NFA’s registration and transfer requirements pertaining to untaxed firearms exceed Congress’ enumerated powers.
2. Enjoin the government from implementing, enforcing or otherwise acting under the authority of the NFA with respect to untaxed firearms.

In simple English, the suit asks the court to eliminate the existing process of obtaining suppressors, short-­barreled rifles (SBR), short-­barreled shotguns (SBS), and any other weapons (AOW). If the suit prevails, purchasing those items would be no different than purchasing an ordinary firearm. At the time of this writing, the ATF and DOJ have not responded to the lawsuit.

Matheny not only wants to unravel the NFA to make suppressors and other covered items easier to obtain, but he also feels as though its very existence is a threat to our rights. 

“Personally, I believe that the NFA is evil,” Matheny said. “We need to eliminate it. As long as NFA is around, it will be a vehicle to push every firearm toward registration.” 

He feels strongly that the Biden-­era reforms to the NFA process were a prelude to expanding registration to include commonly-owned semiautomatic firearms.

The Silencer Shop Foundation doesn’t plan on resting, even if or when the NFA fight is won. 

“Our goal is the restoration of the Second Amendment,” Chief Marketing Officer Elliot Aquila said. “Once the NFA is kaput, we are going to set our sights on all of the ground that was lost the last 30 years.” They are also working to ensure that eliminating the registration process won’t make suppressor ownership illegal under some states’ laws, which is a real possibility.

Proceeds from purchases made through Silencer Shop support the cause of the Silencer Shop Foundation, covering 100 percent of the Foundation’s overhead. Additionally, direct donations can be made online at ssf.org.