UPDATE>Jensen v. ATF
FACTS> CLICKBAIT.There’s a lot of misinformation circulating about the recent NDTX ruling in Jensen v. ATF; including a headline claiming, “ATF is Furious and We Are Planning Brutal Revenge on Gun Owners.”
The source? You guessed it: unnamed anonymous…
— Robert Cekada (@ATFDirectorRC) August 29, 2026
It’s been a crazy couple of weeks since a US District Court Judge’s seven-day stay expired in Jensen v. ATF. That was the ruling that declared the NFA regulation and paperwork required when buying silencers, SBRs, SBSs and AOWs unconstitutional for the named plaintiffs and their members.
With the stay out of the way, the named plaintiffs (and others) began selling those items on 4473 forms with standard NICS background checks, just as you’d have to complete when buying a standard firearm covered under the Gun Control Act.
But there’s has been and still are a lot of grey areas in what the ruling means and how the government will enforce the laws under the ruling. We were one of the impatient ones and wondered a week ago if and when ATF would issue some kind of guidance to retailers and individuals as to what they can expect and how to operate without risking a felony charge.
Last night, ATF Director Robert Cekada took to Twitter X to announce that yes, ATF will be issuing guidance. When? Well, “as soon as we are done.” We suppose it would be hard to announce it any sooner. He emphasizes that they’re working on making sure their legal interpretation is right, which would be a good, not to mention unique feature for virtually any federal bureaucracy.
Anyway, here’s the full text of his tweet:
UPDATE>Jensen v. ATF
FACTS> CLICKBAIT.
There’s a lot of misinformation circulating about the recent NDTX ruling in Jensen v. ATF; including a headline claiming, “ATF is Furious and We Are Planning Brutal Revenge on Gun Owners.”
The source? You guessed it: unnamed anonymous sources. It’s completely FALSE.
**More importantly – ATF respects the Court’s ruling and the rule of law. We are following the order and will not take enforcement action against protected parties inconsistent with that ruling. We are working diligently on clear guidance. Getting it RIGHT matters more than getting it out fast.
That means carefully navigating federal and state laws so that manufacturers, FFLs, and law-abiding gun owners aren’t left with legal problems – today or under a future administration.
Thank you for your patience as we focus on developing the guidance. It will be posted online as soon as we are done. The American public and the 2A community deserve facts NOT clickbait.