Attorney General Todd Blanche let a 92-year federal ban on unregistered gun silencers and short-barreled rifles collapse, days after telling senators his duty was to defend it.
The appeal deadline passed Wednesday without a filing from the Justice Department, and gun-rights groups wasted no time.
Congress zeroed out the $200 National Firearms Act tax on silencers and short-barreled rifles in last year’s budget bill, according to the Congressional Record, and a federal judge ruled earlier this month that the registration requirements built around that tax fell with it.
Gun Owners of America and Silencer Shop scheduled the first unregistered suppressor transfers since 1934 for 12:01 a.m. Wednesday at Silencer Shop’s Texas storefront.
“Literally, greatest Second Amendment win in the history of our country is what I believe,” Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-GA) said at the event, according to remarks provided by his office.
Blanche’s silence made the celebration possible — but just weeks earlier, he had told a different story to the Senate.
On July 15, Blanche submitted written answers to the Senate Judiciary Committee in which he was asked whether he believed the National Firearms Act should be invalidated.
“The Department’s duty is to defend the constitutionality of the laws passed by this body,” Blanche wrote. “To that end, the Department is presently defending the NFA against constitutional challenges.”
Those answers were submitted while his confirmation vote was still pending before the same committee.
As acting attorney general, Blanche oversaw the Justice Department’s active defense of the law — which last argued before the court on July 7 and filed new evidence as recently as June 30.
Four days after the Senate confirmed Blanche on August 8, court dockets show the seven-day window to appeal closed with nothing filed.
Nearly 50 Republican lawmakers had publicly urged Blanche not to appeal, and the White House was also directly involved in the decision, Ammoland reported.
Clyde and Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT) led the August 11 letter, asking Blanche to also apply the ruling nationwide through official rulemaking.
Gun-control groups issued a joint statement condemning the decision, according to Brady.
“The Department of Justice had the opportunity to act to protect our safety, but it failed to do so,” Brady President Kris Brown said. “Worse, 47 gun lobby-beholden members of Congress directly urged Attorney General Blanche to stand down.”
“By not seeking a stay, the Department of Justice is putting the gun industry’s profits ahead of the American people’s safety,” GIFFORDS Executive Director Emma Brown said.
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