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WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Justice Department moved Friday to allow more people to purchase firearm suppressors -- known as silencers -- short-barreled rifles and certain other guns without registering them with the federal government following a court ruling that struck down provisions of a key law.
The Trump administration announced the enforcement policy changes after a Texas judge in August ruled the permitting process was unconstitutional. The judge's ruling was limited to the parties involved in that case, but the Justice Department said Friday it would no longer enforce the registration requirements more broadly.
"The direction from the President, Congress, and the courts is clear," Rob Cekada, director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, said in an emailed statement. "ATF is now following suit with our enforcement posture while continuing to ensure we remain focused where we are needed the most: combating violent crime in American communities."
It's the latest move by the Trump administration to ease restrictions on firearms opposed by gun rights groups. Gun rights activists have long complained that the registration requirements -- which meant filling out a form, being fingerprinted, and waiting for government approval -- were overly burdensome
At issue in the Texas case were regulations in a 1930s-era law, the National Firearms Act, which was passed in response to concerns about mafia violence.
U.S. District Judge James Hendrix in Texas said the rules for purchasing a silencer, short-barreled rifle, short-barreled shotgun and other certain other firearms must fall after the Republican-controlled Congress and President Donald Trump eliminated a $200 permit tax on the devices. The Justice Department opted not to appeal the judge's decision.
Cekada told The Associated Press on Friday that after the judge's ruling, federal law enforcement was inundated with questions from the public and members of Congress about how the government was going to handle enforcement nationwide.