In September, I finally got the notification I could go pick up my suppressor after nine months of waiting for ATF approval.
When the “Big Beautiful Bill” dropped the National Firearms Act tax from $200 to $0, I wanted to seize the opportunity to buy one, even if it still meant going through the rigamarole and tyranny that is registration.
After finally getting my suppressor, I was pleasantly frustrated by a court ruling a couple of weeks later which ruled the registration requirement was unconstitutional, since there was no longer a tax.
The only way the National Firearms Act was allowed to pass in 1934 was because the restrictions on barrel length, suppressors and machine guns took the form of a tax, and taxes fell under congressional authority.
A federal court in Texas rightly ruled that without the tax, the restrictions of the NFA have no constitutional standing (not that they ever did, even as a tax). However, the initial ruling only applied to the specific parties in the lawsuit, which included Gun Owners of America members, along with Palmetto State Armory and B&T customers.
In the immediate aftermath of the ruling, there was both celebration and apprehension in the second amendment community. What could FFLs do now? This was completely uncharted territory.
I spoke with a few FFLs here in Marion County, and both mentioned they wanted to wait for clarification from the ATF about what to do next, otherwise risk destroying their lives and businesses.
“We’re going to Form 4 until we get something in writing from the ATF clarifying what we can do legally and what we can’t,” said Chris Hollister, manager at K&S Outdoors in Winfield. “It was kind of hearsay. We didn’t know. $10,000 and 10 years in jail? No. I’m not going to jail. I want to do this as legally as possible.”
Several weeks later, the clarification came, and it shocked me and many other gun owners. Why?
In a shocking move, the ATF did something in support of gun rights for once. They announced not only would they not enforce NFA restrictions for the previously mentioned protected parties, but for everyone in the nation.
As I’m writing this and you’re reading this, you’re free to cut down your shotgun barrels and swap your braces for stocks (In the State of Alabama and other free states). You can buy a suppressor, short-barreled rifle, short-barreled shotgun or AOW (any other weapon) with nothing but a 4473 like any other firearm purchase.
While there’s still a long way to go to fully roll back unconstitutional gun control laws such as the NFA, this is still the biggest gun rights victory in 92 years since the NFA somehow managed to pass into law.
“It made our life a lot simpler,” said Jim Willingham, owner of Bluegrass and Bullets in Hamilton. “It made a dealer’s life a whole simpler from what we used to have to go through, and it’s better for the customer.”
The NFA is effectively dead, other than its restrictions on machine guns. But with the advent of the forced reset trigger (FRT), that’s another restriction that’s easily bypassed.
Funnily enough, because of workaround like arm braces and FRTs, both FFLs I spoke to said demand for SBRs is still low. Most people who had braces can now simply swap them for stocks.
But what has been growing in popularity are suppressors.
“Suppressors have been hard to get because they’re going out of stock every day,” Hollister said. “We’ve been ordering literally every other day just to keep it filled, so it’s been good.”
Hollister and Willingham both said .22 caliber cans have been really popular due to their low price.
Willingham made note of a few trends he’d noticed.
“We sell more of the Dead Air and SilencerCo, a lot of the inexpensive ones because of the price point,” he said. “But most people are looking for longevity—what’s going to last the longest. They don’t mind paying the extra money to get a good one. We also sell a lot of .22 cans, especially since the popularity of FRTs.”
Hollister said he believes the price of suppressors should start to come down now that there’s less red tape.
“I think what’s going to happen is that market is going to be flooded because everyone’s going to go for them,” he said. “As long as you’re not a felon, it’s fine. Right after the first of the year, they should come down in price. There’s going to be so many out there.”
One concern I’ve had is the recent victory is only a court ruling and an ATF decision. It hasn’t been codified into law yet. The NFA, Gun Control Act of 1968 and other laws such as the Hughes Amendment to the 1986 Gun Owners Protection Act, are all still on the books.
Hollister and Willingham both believe the sheer numbers of suppressor sales should help prevent this victory from being rescinded.
“I don’t think they can go back and do that, technically,” Hollister said. “If they just banned it now, what would happen? You would have, what, 100 million felons running around? I don’t think they’re going to do that. It would be a bad move.”
Willingham encouraged gun owners to come together so supporters of gun control can’t put things back the way they were.
“The fight’s not over, because it left things open for the possibility of being rescinded if they get in control,” he said. “So we’re hoping to get everybody who wants one and can afford one to buy as many as they can, because if we flood the country with them, they can hardly rescind that, because they wouldn’t have the manpower to do that. It’s a joint effort—all your hunters, enthusiasts, collectors, whatever—they need to stand up and say ‘No, we’re not going to back down.’”
Willingham also encouraged people to vote accordingly.
Personally, I could not be more excited for this win. I sold my pistol braces and put stocks on both of my ARs that were formerly pistols. I also put a vertical grip on one of them.
They’re not coming off.
We still have a long way to go. There are still laws that need to be fully repealed. We need to continue to push our elected officials to stand for the constitution and do what’s right.
We live in a day and age where there is widespread support in the U.S. for ideologies and systems of government that have historically (and presently) resulted in unimaginable atrocities and hundreds of millions of deaths.
It is more important now than ever that we stand up and proverbially fight for our rights, so that the fight never has to become literal.
But if God forbid it ever does, thankfully we’re in a better place to prepare and equip ourselves with a few less unnecessary taxes and registration.
See complete story in the Journal Record.
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