Trump ordered DOJ not to appeal ruling that loosened limits on “gangster weapons,” sources say

September 17, 2026 / 7:02 PM EDT / CBS News

Washington — President Trump ordered the Justice Department not to appeal a court ruling that loosened restrictions on firearms known as "gangster weapons," sources familiar with the matter told CBS News, a move that will let some Americans possess or sell short-barreled rifles, short-barreled shotguns and silencers with less government oversight.

For more than 90 years, those types of arms have been among the most heavily regulated because they are generally considered to be particularly dangerous and easily concealable.

Under the National Firearms Act, first enacted in 1934, anyone wishing to sell, possess or make a firearm or device covered by the law has had to submit a detailed written application to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. They have also had to be fingerprinted and were required to register the weapons, which must be engraved with serial numbers, with the ATF.

But in August, U.S. District Judge James Wesley Hendrix, a Trump appointee in the Northern District of Texas, ruled that most of the restrictions on all but two categories of specialized firearms regulated under the National Firearms Act are unconstitutional.

The president himself decided against appealing…

Original source: https://www.cbsnews.com/healthwatch/