# A Second Amendment Win — and What Comes Next 

The Supreme Court has made increasingly clear that it will no longer treat the Second Amendment as a second-class right.

August 12, 2026 • News Releases 

Last week, a federal district court ruled that key provisions of the National Firearms Act, including the registration scheme for suppressors and short-barreled rifles and shotguns, are unconstitutional. A new [blog post](https://url.avanan.click/v2/r01/___https://zwly9k6z.r.us-east-1.awstrack.me/L0/https:*2F*2Fwww.cato.org*2Fblog*2Fno-more-judicial-rubber-stamping-gun-laws/1/0100019ff718bdcc-0d0f68fd-7da3-4116-8289-a511f343db0b-000000/4aBj88N704_mRV8FnmawuGRZ01o=473___.YXAzOmNhdG9pbnN0aXR1dGU6YTpvOmY0Y2MyYjc5NWQ1NWYwOTE2NDhlZTg0MGE5YTg1ZmY5Ojc6MTM2Njo5NmQzMjlkNzIwZTZkYTA4ZjgwMDUyNzE3MzMxNTQzMzFjZmEwYWQxOWNmNmE3MDRiYWNhMGRmY2RjNGVkNDFlOmg6VDpO) from [Clark Neily](https://url.avanan.click/v2/r01/___https://zwly9k6z.r.us-east-1.awstrack.me/L0/https:*2F*2Fwww.cato.org*2Fpeople*2Fclark-neily/1/0100019ff718bdcc-0d0f68fd-7da3-4116-8289-a511f343db0b-000000/2TOMMACryx1MaRE0GoZadKiY6E4=473___.YXAzOmNhdG9pbnN0aXR1dGU6YTpvOmY0Y2MyYjc5NWQ1NWYwOTE2NDhlZTg0MGE5YTg1ZmY5Ojc6MjUxZTplNWExYjM3OWE3NWE5YTc5Mjk3YWVhYmU2NTgyODdjZTI0NTYyOTBkNjYyNGViNzhlMzRmODQxOWVkNTQ3ODgyOmg6VDpO), senior vice president for legal studies at the Cato Institute, details how this decision fits into a broader pattern of rulings that protect the Second Amendment right of Americans, writing in part:

> Last week’s *Silencer Shop* decision fits a broader pattern I flagged in a letter to the *Washington Post* regarding Virginia’s ban on AR-style rifles: the Supreme Court has made increasingly clear that it will no longer treat the Second Amendment as a second-class right. Last term alone produced two notable examples of that trend — one decision striking down a Hawaii law designed to frustrate the constitutionally protected right to carry a concealed weapon, and another reversing a criminal conviction for possessing a firearm while being an unlawful user of a controlled substance (in that case, cannabis).
> 
> Unlike *Silencer Shop*, neither of those decisions involved the enumerated-powers doctrine; they were Second Amendment cases straight up. But they reflect the same dynamic increasingly evident in gun cases: a properly engaged judiciary that is less willing to rubber-stamp firearms restrictions and increasingly inclined to ask hard questions about the source and limits of government power.

To speak with Clark Neily, contact Cato PR at [pr@​cato.​org](mailto:pr@cato.org).

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