The battle to protect recent gains for proponents of the Second Amendment is still facing legal fights in 2026.

As we head into midterm election season, and just a few months since the repeal of the $200 NFA tax on common firearm items like suppressors, legal battles continue to circle like sharks in the nation’s courts.

The attorneys for George Peterson are fighting a lower court ruling by a three-judge panel that determined “firearm accessories” like suppressors are not protected under the Second Amendment.

Peterson’s attorneys have filed a petition to the Supreme Court in Peterson v. United States challenging that claim, which upheld the Louisiana man's conviction for possessing a homemade, unregistered suppressor last August. That determination also upheld that the NFA’s registration and licensing requirements were not unconstitutional burdens on gun rights.
 

The Firearms Policy Coalition-backed challenge to the federal government's unconstitutional National Firearms Act could impact the entire country.

The petition was filed on March 9, and the government’s response is due just a month after it is docketed in the court.

It’s well worth remembering that the battle over suppressors and other NFA-regulated items continues, even as gun-rights advocates and pro-2A groups celebrate recent court wins. Any gains for constitutionally protected gun rights are still on the ballot for 2026.

"FPC is proud to back this important Supreme Court petition challenging the federal government's immoral and unconstitutional NFA registration-and-tax regime,” stated FPC President Brandon Combs. “Forcing people to pay special taxes on constitutionally protected rights and register their firearms is precisely the kind of tyranny our Founders rejected. The Fifth Circuit wrongly rebranded the federal registry and tax as a mere 'licensing' system to dodge the Supreme Court's binding Second Amendment cases.”

Should the Supreme Court rule in favor of Mr. Peterson, it would mark a legal move to restore the rights of individuals to possess suppressors without submitting to the NFA tax and registration scheme, whether that tax is effectively defunct or not.

(Banner Image: We've been testing this Silent Steel USA Compact Streamer for several months now, and it has been an absolute tank of a suppressor across multiple guns. It's a great full-auto option that's easy to maintain and does a solid job of reducing noise, flash, and concussion.)