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A federal judge in Texas has struck down key federal registration requirements for suppressors, short-barreled rifles, and short-barreled shotguns as they apply to plaintiffs in a lawsuit brought by Kansas and 14 other states, ruling that the regulations are unconstitutional after Congress eliminated the tax that had served as their legal foundation.

In a decision issued Wednesday, U.S. District Judge James Wesley Hendrix of the Northern District of Texas concluded that portions of the National Firearms Act requiring registration, reporting, and recordkeeping for those firearms and accessories go beyond the constitutional powers granted to Congress.

The ruling follows passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which reduced the National Firearms Act’s transfer and manufacturing taxes on suppressors, short-barreled rifles, short-barreled shotguns, and certain other firearms to $0 beginning Jan. 1, 2026. Despite the tax’s elimination, the federal registration and reporting requirements had remained in effect.

Judge Hendrix permanently prohibited the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives from enforcing those provisions against the states, organizations, businesses, and individual plaintiffs involved in the lawsuit.

At the same time, Hendrix declined to extend the ruling nationwide, citing the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Trump v. CASA, which limits the ability of federal courts to issue universal injunctions affecting parties not involved in the litigation.

“The challenged NFA provisions are unconstitutional,” Hendrix wrote, concluding that once Congress eliminated the transfer and making taxes for the affected firearms, “the regulatory provisions cannot be upheld under the taxing power” because they no longer generate revenue.

The judge also dismissed the Justice Department’s contention that the requirements could be upheld under Congress’ authority to regulate interstate commerce, finding that Congress enacted the National Firearms Act under its taxing authority rather than the Commerce Clause.

Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach praised the ruling, calling it a significant victory for Second Amendment supporters.

“Today, the state of Kansas and our fellow plaintiffs won a great victory against the U.S. Department of Justice, which had been wrongly defending an unconstitutional law. The federal government has no right to demand that American citizens ask for permission before putting an accessory on their firearm to protect their hearing,” Kobach said.

Kobach said the decision represents an important win for gun owners, arguing that it both reinforces constitutional limits on federal authority and removes what he considers unnecessary restrictions on law-abiding Americans.

“Our Constitution provides for a government of limited powers at the federal level. We must always be vigilant to enforce those constitutional limits, especially when government overreach threatens the right of Americans to keep and bear arms,” he added.

The lawsuit was brought by the attorneys general of Kansas, Texas, Alaska, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Louisiana, Montana, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, West Virginia, and Wyoming, along with firearm manufacturers, retailers, advocacy groups, and private gun owners.

The plaintiffs argued that by eliminating the taxes imposed under the National Firearms Act, Congress also removed the constitutional basis for requiring owners of those firearms and accessories to register them with the federal government.

Rather than addressing the plaintiffs’ Second Amendment claims, Hendrix based his decision entirely on Article I of the Constitution, ruling that once the tax was repealed, Congress no longer had constitutional authority under its taxing power to enforce the registration provisions.

The judge explained that resolving the constitutional challenge under Article I made it unnecessary to rule on the Second Amendment arguments because the plaintiffs had already obtained the relief they sought.

The injunction applies only to the parties involved in the lawsuit, including residents of the 15 participating states, and does not automatically invalidate the National Firearms Act’s registration requirements across the rest of the country.

The Justice Department is expected to have the option of appealing the ruling to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.

{Matzav.com}

President Donald Trump reportedly confronted War Secretary Pete Hegseth during a meeting at Camp David after learning that dwindling U.S. missile stockpiles were limiting military options against Iran, according to a report published Wednesday by The Washington Post. The White House and Pentagon, however, strongly denied that any such confrontation took place.

Citing two individuals familiar with the discussions, The Washington Post reported that tensions surfaced during a Cabinet meeting last Friday, where Trump questioned Hegseth over why he had not been informed sooner about the extent of the nation’s shrinking missile inventory. According to the report, the President expressed frustration, saying he believed the problem “had been fixed.”

The newspaper said shortages of long-range precision-guided munitions and air-defense interceptors played a significant role in Trump’s decision to hold off on launching broader military strikes against Iran. The report follows Trump’s recent remarks that he had been prepared to order “the biggest attack since World War II” before postponing it to allow room for possible diplomatic efforts concerning the Strait of Hormuz.

Although the United States has already entered into preliminary agreements to manufacture additional Patriot air-defense systems and other critical weapons, the report noted that producing the new equipment could take as long as two years, leaving the military without a quick solution to replenish current inventories.

According to The Washington Post, U.S. forces fired more than 850 Tomahawk cruise missiles during the first month of the conflict, along with over 1,000 Patriot and THAAD interceptor missiles. The report also stated that American forces used more than 1,300 Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) missiles, leaving supplies of that weapon—also in high demand by Ukraine—virtually depleted.

The report further claimed that when Trump challenged Hegseth over the shortages, the War Secretary defended his handling of the situation and placed responsibility on Deputy Defense Secretary Stephen Feinberg, saying Feinberg had failed to adequately brief the White House on the status of the nation’s weapons stockpiles.

The White House flatly rejected the report.

“This is 100% fake news. Literally never happened. And President Trump has the utmost confidence in Secretary Hegseth,” stated White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt.

The Pentagon also forcefully disputed the account. Chief spokesman Sean Parnell told The Washington Post, “Secretary Hegseth did not mislead anyone about our munitions posture, and he did not blame Deputy Secretary Feinberg. These claims about depleted stockpiles, internal disagreements, the Secretary’s position on Iran … are equally fictional.”

{Matzav.com}

[Video below.] Authorities in Ocean County are investigating a series of antisemitic incidents after vandals broke into the new Jackson Township campus of Bais Medrash Govoah set to open later this month, causing extensive damage and scrawling hateful messages throughout the building. Police are also probing separate acts of vandalism directed at Chai Lifeline, the organization that supports children and families facing serious illness and trauma.

According to Jackson Township police, investigators have identified the seven young individuals captured on surveillance cameras entering the new campus of Bais Medrash Govoah, where they allegedly caused significant property damage and wrote antisemitic and racist slurs on classroom chalkboards. Officials said the messages were so offensive that they would not be released publicly.

Police are treating the break-in, which occurred late last week, as a hate crime. Investigators are also examining three additional incidents of vandalism that targeted Chai Lifeline.

“It was heartbreaking,” Jackson Township Council President Mordy Burnstein said. “I had thought that we lived in America in 2026, that things like this shouldn’t be occurring anymore.”

In response to the incidents, Police Chief Mary Nelson said officers have increased their presence around the affected locations as well as other areas considered especially sensitive throughout the township.

“We’ve increased patrols both in the areas of target and also in other sensitive areas within our township,” Nelson said.

Burnstein said the recent vandalism reflects the same antisemitism he has personally encountered while serving in public office.

“I’ve gotten emails from my township email calling me Dirty Jew and other language words I don’t want to use,” he said.

“When hate is left unchecked, every family loses their sense of safety,” Mayor Jennifer Kuhn said. “It is extremely disturbing.”

Although no arrests have yet been announced, Chief Nelson said authorities intend to pursue charges against those responsible, regardless of their age.

“Whenever there’s an active hate, we do take it seriously and we prosecute it,” Nelson said. “We want it to be known that we’re not willing to accept this in our township.”

Investigators do not believe the suspects who vandalized the yeshiva are the same individuals responsible for the separate attacks on Chai Lifeline. Meanwhile, security has been posted at the Bais Medrash Govoah campus around the clock as the investigation continues.

“We may pray differently, we may dress differently, we’re all human beings, we’re all Americans,” Burnstein said.

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