Budget Debacle: Will The NFA Be Nixed?

Numerous pro-gun bills have been awaiting a mark-up, much less a hearing in the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee — however, a chance at removing suppressors, short-barreled rifles, and shotguns may have been lost.

Among the pro-gun bills stalled out in the House Ways and Means Committee include:

• SHUSH Act (H.R. 850) — The Silencers Help Us Save Hearing Act would completely deregulate firearm suppressors to the point where they are treated like any other firearm accessory — no fingerprinting, no background check, no $200 tax stamp, just the ability to purchase straight off the shelf like a scope, sling, magazines, etc.

• SHORT Act (H.R. 2395) — This bill would remove short-barreled rifles and shotguns from the NFA. Much like the SHUSH Act, H.R. 2395 would get rid of the unconstitutional fingerprinting, background checks, registry, and $200 tax stamp for these NFA items.

• Hearing Protection Act (H.R. 440) — This legislation would remove the $200 tax stamp when purchasing or transferring a firearm suppressor, while still requiring a background check.

Earlier this week, the National Association for Gun Rights alerted its members once Washington, D.C. insiders began clamoring to insert sweeping Second Amendment advancements through budget reconciliation.

And on May 13th, the House Ways and Means Committee met to mark up the federal budget.

After hours-long debate about numerous subjects included in the budget bill, the House Ways and Means Committee included a compromise “$0 suppressor tax,” which keeps in place the fingerprinting requirements and background check.

Furthermore, this “$0 suppressor tax” only applies to Form 4 suppressors (buying, selling, or transferring a suppressor), and completely ignores Form 1 suppressors (building a home-made suppressor).

The National Association for Gun Rights will not be satisfied until the National Firearms Act of 1934 is completely repealed.

The budget bill now heads to House Budget Committee, where it will be marked up on Friday, May 16th.

You can call the Budget Committee at (202) 226-7270 and demand they remove suppressors from the NFA entirely.