Gun Owners of America (GOA) and the National Rifle Association (NRA) are warning that Republicans on the House Ways and Means Committee are passing over an opportunity to deregulate suppressors.
On Monday, GOA used an X post to explain that the Republicans could “gut the National Firearms Act (NFA) using budget reconciliation because the NFA is a $200 tax.”
Congress can gut the National Firearms Act using budget reconciliation because the NFA is a $200 tax.
— Gun Owners of America (@GunOwners) May 12, 2025
By merely proposing to reduce the transfer tax on suppressors (even to $0), @WaysandMeansGOP are leaving the federal gun registry in place for EVERYTHING!
This is UNACCEPTABLE! https://t.co/B5pTy0cCBu pic.twitter.com/GwexwolilZ
Under the NFA, every suppressor purchased by a law-abiding citizen is taxed $200. Beyond the tax, the acquisition of a suppressor entails an onerous background check and registration, as well as a requirement that the would-be purchaser be fingerprinted and photographed.
But when the the Ways and Means Committee released their bill language Monday, the GOA pointed out it did not include the Hearing Protection Act or the SHORT Act. The NRA noted that this means “suppressors…[continue to be] subject… to the unconstitutional provisions of the NFA.”
“NRA fully supports removal of suppressors from the NFA and will work to achieve that goal as the reconciliation process continues.” - John Commerford, NRA-ILA Executive Director
— NRA (@NRA) May 12, 2025
Instead of deregulating suppressors, Republicans on the committee settled for trying to reduce the $200 tax on suppressors to zero. Would-be purchasers would still have to undergo a background check, fingerprint, and photograph, and their suppressors would still have to be registered.
GOA’s Erich Pratt said, “This isn’t a compromise, it’s a betrayal. Lawmakers knew it, and they chose political convenience over principle.”
NRA-ILA executive director John Commerford said, “NRA fully supports removal of suppressors from the NFA and will work to achieve that goal as the reconciliation process continues.”
AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio, a member of Gun Owners of America, a Pulsar Night Vision pro-staffer, and the director of global marketing for Lone Star Hunts. He was a Visiting Fellow at the Russell Kirk Center for Cultural Renewal in 2010 and has a Ph.D. in Military History. Follow him on Instagram: @awr_hawkins. You can sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange. Reach him directly:
