This is Part 2 of our series on Silencer Shop, the Silencer Shop Foundation (SSF), and their continuing effort to abolish the National Firearms Act (NFA) through the "One Big Beautiful Lawsuit:" Silencer Shop Foundation v. ATF. Here, we'll focus on how and why the SSF was created and its mission.
To read more important information that every gun owner should know about this issue, see Part 1 and Part 3 of this series here:
Part 1: How a Hunter and Engineer Aims to Take Down Nearly a Century of Silencer Regulation
Part 3: What Silencer Deregulation and End of the NFA Might Look Like
When President Donald Trump signed the “One Big Beautiful Bill” on July 4, gun-rights advocates cheered. That’s because language included in the final bill removed the $200 tax on silencers (also called suppressors), short-barreled rifles (SBRs), short-barreled shotguns (SBSs) and what the National Firearms Act defines as any other weapons (AOWs).
However, the cheering wasn’t as loud as it could have been. Due to a maneuver by the Senate parliamentarian, passage of the measure was only a partial victory.
When the final version was approved by the U.S. House of Representatives, it included language that completely deregulated silencers, SBRs, SBSs, and AOWs, removing not only the $200 fee but also all the red tape required by the NFA to purchase these items.
Fighting Back
Dave Matheny, president, CEO and founder of Silencer Shop, has fought to deregulate suppressors for nearly 15 years. So, when the final legislation eliminated the $200 tax on silencers and other NFA items, he felt encouraged, to say the least.
After all, many never expected that much progress would be achieved. But importantly, the foundational framework of the NFA stayed in place, including registration (which can lead to confiscation), bureaucratic approval (which is uncertain and often very slow) and ATF overreach (which we saw plenty of during the Biden Administration).
These issues continue to burden law-abiding citizens who simply wish to own constitutionally protected items.
“I think the $0 tax was actually a decent step because it opens a door,” Matheny said. “But in my opinion, the entire NFA has to be completely abolished. That’s the first thing.”
However, as Matheny explained, there are about 16 states, where silencers are currently legal but would become completely illegal if they were removed from the NFA now because of state laws that allow silencers as long as they are registered under the NFA.
“And when I say silencers, I mean silencers, SPRs, SBSs, AOWs, all of it,” he said. “And what we really don't want to do is win the battle of pulling them out of NFA while simultaneously losing 16 states, which is almost half of the states where silencers are legal.”
The Silencer Shop Foundation Is Born
The failure of Congress to fully deregulate NFA items revealed a simple truth: Legislative progress can be undone or left incomplete, and the fundamental right to keep and bear arms remains at risk as long as the NFA exists.
This realization led to the formation of the Silencer Shop Foundation (SSF). SSF is dedicated to strengthening the Second Amendment and restoring gun owners' rights by challenging unconstitutional laws through the courts and supporting pro-2A legislation.
“Led by the team behind Silencer Shop, we've spent over a decade simplifying NFA ownership,” Matheny said. “Now we're going further — eliminating the NFA altogether. This Foundation is our way of pushing beyond commerce and into culture-changing advocacy.”
Lauren Spivey serves SSF as its chief executive officer. Since 2019, she has been a driving force at Silencer Shop — working across compliance, customer service and sales to simplify the NFA process and support tens of thousands of lawful buyers nationwide.
“Her leadership ensures the Foundation stays focused on results: defending lawful gun ownership and fighting for the full restoration of Second Amendment rights,” Matheny said. “With Lauren at the helm, the Foundation isn’t just an idea — it’s a movement backed by strategy, integrity and purpose.”
With over 31 years in the firearms industry, SSF Chief Operating Officer Travis Glover brings extensive operational expertise, regulatory strategy and pro-2A leadership.
As a former compliance architect for major companies like Cabela’s and Lipsey’s — where he helped launch their NFA program — Travis has dedicated his career to transforming bureaucratic red tape into efficient, actionable solutions for FFLs nationwide.
General Counsel Chris Boeck and Chief Marketing Officer Elliot Aquila round out the team. Both have extensive experience in the industry and know their way around the NFA process and have been paramount in supporting legal challenges and legislation in Washington to strengthen the Second Amendment.
While the SSF is a new entity, its leaders aren’t wasting any time jumping into the fray. In fact, the Foundation is already taking on the biggest, most important task of all.
Players Behind the 'One Big Beautiful Lawsuit'
On Independence Day — just hours after President Trump signed the One Big Beautiful Bill into law without fully deregulating silencers and other NFA items — the Silencer Shop Foundation filed a landmark federal lawsuit against the Department of Justice and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).
Silencer Shop Foundation v. ATF, known as the “One Big Beautiful Lawsuit,” takes direct aim at the constitutionality of the NFA as it applies to silencers and other restricted items.
Other plaintiffs in the case include Gun Owners of America, Gun Owners of America (GOA), Firearms Regulatory Accountability Coalition, B&T USA, Palmetto State Armory, Si-lencerCo Weapons Research, the Gun Owners Foundation (GOF) and one individual.
“With the tax reduced to zero, the ‘justification’ for the NFA—being a revenue-producing tax — has been completely eliminated,” Matheny explained.
“The law's only effect is to create burdensome regulations, slow approval times and a federal registry of law-abiding citizens who wish to exercise their rights. In plain terms, if the NFA no longer serves as a tax or revenue function, it is nothing more than a restriction and registration scheme.”
The lawsuit, filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas, requests that the court declare that the NFA’s registration and transfer requirements pertaining to untaxed firearms exceed Congress’s enumerated powers.
It also asks the court to enjoin ATF and its employees, agents, successors or any other person acting in concert with them, from “implementing, enforcing, or otherwise acting under the authority of the NFA with respect to untaxed firearms.”
Ultimately, Matheny said that failing to fully eliminate the NFA is something the silencer industry — and the firearms industry — cannot consider acceptable.
“What is given today can be taken away tomorrow,” he said. “Only by fundamentally challenging and overturning unconstitutional regulations can we secure the future of the Second Amendment.”
What It Means and How You Can Help
To lawful American gun owners, a victory in the One Big Beautiful Lawsuit would likely be the biggest Second Amendment victory we’ve seen in decades. Complete deregulation of silencers, SBRs, SBSs and AOWs would open up a new market for gun manufacturers to expand their inventories of such items.
For home defense applications, few weapons rival an SBR with a silencer attached. And with complete deregulation, the number of firearms models with integrated silencers is sure to boom. And of course, quiet hunters and shooters make better neighbors, whether at the local range or in the deer woods.
Hook & Barrel readers are invited to join the effort to completely demolish the NFA.
“The best way people can get involved is by donating money and time to the effort,” Matheny said. “If you want to donate to Silence Shop Foundation, great, we'll use the money the best way we can.”
“Another thing is that people kind of lose sight of the fact that there are two sides to the gun fight. Think of it as defense and offense. When we're playing defense, we have to have a no-compromise, hold-the-line attitude. When we're on offense, we have to accept every single win.
"We just have to move the line back the other way, even if it's incrementally. Politicians never get thanked for delivering wins. That's why we only see pro-2A stuff passing every 15 to 20 years.
"They all put their necks on the line, get something through the best they can in whatever situation, and then everybody yells at them that it wasn't enough. They deserve some thanks.”
Now Is the Time to End the Noise for Good
As the One Big Beautiful Lawsuit works its way through the snail-paced judicial system, Silencer Shop will continue fighting the battle it has been engaged in for many years.
“We're also pushing for additional vehicles to get the full Hearing Protection Act (HPA) passed,” Matheny said. “That’s really still the goal. I don’t think passing it on its own is going to happen, as we don’t have enough of a majority for that. But I think to get it into a must-pass bill is possible.”
To stay up to date on the news surrounding the legal battle and join the mission to fix the unconstitutional laws, click here.
Read all three parts of this series on the Silencer Shop Foundation's efforts to overturn the NFA.
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