Republicans on the House Ways and Means Committee really screwed us.
The reduction of the $200 tax stamp for suppressors to nothing is, at best, a good start. However, it’s also not the biggest problem with suppressors, at least in my mind. A couple hundred bucks more for a product is a pain, sure, but the paperwork, the pleading with the crown for a scrap of your rights, and the permanent registration of the device are the bigger issues to me.
It’s why I’ve never gone down that particular road.
And we had a chance to address that.
Well, to be fair, we still do, but that’s not going to happen without a lot of pressure.
To that end, an open letter is circulating calling for NFA reform that we can all rally behind that has a butt-ton of state-level gun rights groups as signatories.
Open Letter to Reform the National Firearms Act
May 17, 2025
The Honorable Jodey C. Arrington
Chairman, House Committee on Budget, U.S. House of Representatives
1111 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515-4319
The Honorable Virginia Foxx
Chairman, House Committee on Rules, U.S. House of Representatives
2462 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515-3305
Rep. Arrington, Rep. Foxx, members of the House committees on Budget and Rules:
As leaders of the undersigned organizations, we demand immediate inclusion of portions of the Hearing Protection Act (H.R. 404) and the Stop Harassing Owners of Rifles Today (SHORT) Act (H.R. 2395) in the forthcoming reconciliation bill. These critical pieces of legislation address longstanding, unjust restrictions imposed by the National Firearms Act (NFA) of 1934, which infringe upon the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding Americans. The failure to incorporate these bills into the reconciliation package would represent a profound missed opportunity to restore individual liberty, protect public health, and uphold constitutional guarantees.
The Hearing Protection Act (H.R. 404), introduced by Representative Ben Cline (R-VA-06), seeks to remove firearm suppressors from the NFA’s burdensome regulatory framework, replacing it with a streamlined purchase process for typical accessories. Suppressors, contrary to popular misconceptions, do not silence firearms but significantly reduce noise levels, mitigating the risk of permanent hearing loss for shooters and hunters. The American Academy of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery has endorsed suppressors as effective tools for preventing hearing damage, a public health concern affecting millions of Americans. The current NFA requirements — including a $200 tax stamp for both manufacture and transfer of the devices, extensive paperwork, and excessive waiting times — serve no meaningful public safety purpose while imposing undue financial and administrative burdens on responsible citizens. With over 4.8 million suppressors in civilian circulation, their widespread use underscores the need for reform.
Similarly, the SHORT Act (H.R. 2395) addresses the arbitrary NFA classification of short-barreled rifles (SBRs) and short-barreled shotguns (SBSs), which subjects them to the same onerous regulations as transferable machine guns and other highly restricted devices. This outdated framework, rooted in 1930s-era fears of organized crime, lacks relevance in the modern context, where SBRs and SBSs pose no greater threat than standard rifles or shotguns. The SHORT Act would delist these firearms from the NFA, eliminating unnecessary barriers to ownership and ensuring that law-abiding Americans are not penalized for exercising their constitutional rights.
Language compliant with the U.S. Senate “Byrd rule” (2 U.S.C. 644) is circulating the Second Amendment community and should be incorporated in the current budget reconciliation package. The urgency of including this language in the reconciliation package cannot be overstated. Recent reports indicate that the House Ways and Means Committee has delayed action on both H.R. 404 and H.R. 2395, potentially due to lobbying efforts that prioritize commercial interests over the public good. Such delays are unacceptable, particularly when public sentiment, as reflected in numerous grassroots calls to action, overwhelmingly supports NFA reform. The reconciliation process offers a unique opportunity to bypass Senate filibuster constraints, ensuring that these common-sense reforms reach the House floor and become law. Failure to seize this moment risks further entrenching an antiquated and unconstitutional regulatory regime.
Opponents of these reforms, such as Michael Bloomberg’s “Everytown for Gun Safety,” argue that suppressor deregulation poses public safety risks by making gunfire less detectable. This claim is false and ignores the reality that suppressors reduce, but do not eliminate, firearm noise. Moreover, homemade suppressors are readily accessible to those with criminal intent.
The public safety argument against SBR deregulation is equally baseless, as these firearms are functionally identical to their longer-barreled counterparts. These objections, often rooted in fearmongering rather than evidence, should not override the constitutional rights of millions of Americans.
The Second Amendment unequivocally protects the right to keep and bear arms, and the NFA’s restrictive provisions—originally enacted to combat gang violence nearly a century ago—have long outlived their utility. The Hearing Protection Act and the SHORT Act represent measured, practical steps toward aligning federal law with contemporary realities and constitutional principles. Their inclusion in the reconciliation bill is not merely a policy preference but a moral and legal imperative.
We, the signatories, therefore, demand that the House Committee on Rules and the committee on Budgets act decisively to ensure that the publicly available, broadly supported, modified language of H.R. 404 and H.R. 2395 are incorporated into the reconciliation package in their entirety, without dilution or compromise. The American people deserve legislation that respects their rights, promotes public health, and dismantles unnecessary bureaucratic obstacles. We strongly urge you to heed the calls of millions of gun owners and Second Amendment advocates who have made their voices clear. The time for action is now.
Respectfully,
F. Paul Valone
President, Grass Roots North Carolina
Exec. Director, Rights Watch International
Gary Marbut, President
Montana Shooting Sports Association
Philip Van Cleave, President
Virginia Citizens Defense League
Sean Caranna, Executive Director
Florida Carry, Inc.
Tom King, President
New York State Rifle & Pistol Association.
Rep. JR Hoell, President
New Hampshire Firearms Coalition, Inc.
Kevin Starrett, Director
Oregon Firearms Federation
Mike Duralia, President
South Carolina Carry
Kevin Patrick, Jr., Acting President
West Virginia Citizens Defense League
Matthew Andras, President
Coalition of New Jersey Firearm Owners
Mark W. Pennak, President
Maryland Shall Issue
Richard Pearson, Exec. Director
Illinois State RIFLE Association
Kimberly Morin, President
Women’s Defense League of NH
Klint Macro, President
Allegheny County Sportsmen’s League
Rich Kerlin, President
Beaver County Sportsmen’s Conservation League
Blaine Toy, President
Unified Sportsmen of Pennsylvania
Rob Pincus, Director
2nd Amendment Organization
Dianna Muller, President
Women for Gun Rights
J.R. Stoker Jr., President
Firearms Owners Against Crime Institute
Dr. Joe Hannon, VP
Gun Owners of New Hampshire
Dennis Fusaro, Member*
Legislative Policy Committee,
BOD National Rifle Association
Jon Richardson, Member*
BOD National Rifle Association
Bryan Strawser, Chair
Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus
David Adams, Exec. Director
Virginia Shooting Sports Association
Laura Whitcomb, President
Gun Owners of Maine.
Holly Sullivan, President
Connecticut Citizens Defense League
John C. Poole II, Exec. Director,
Texas State Rifle Association
Charles Hiltunen, President
Indiana State Rifle and Pistol Association
Rocky Marshall
Boerne, TX
Eric Davis, President
Gun Owners of Vermont
Linda Walker, President
Buckeye Firearms Association
Jeffrey Kaufman, MD, BoD
VT Federation of Sportsmen’s Clubs
Chris Bradley, President
VT Federation of Sportsmen’s Clubs
Huey Laugesen, Exec. Director
Colorado State Shooting Association
James D Jones, Secretary and Board Member BamaCarry
*(title for identification only)
Yes, this is long, but it’s worth every minute of it.
Normally, I wouldn’t include the signatories, but the plethora of gun rights groups represented here makes it imperative that I include them. For those whose organizations aren’t on this letter, who would like to be included, reach out to Rep. J. R. Hoell of New Hampshire at [email protected] for inclusion.
Now, let’s understand what’s important here. These grassroots organizations represent a lot of voters. These aren’t people who joined the NRA when they were 16, got a life membership, and haven’t paid attention to gun rights since then. Or, to be sure, some other group that they joined, then promptly ignored. I’m not picking on the NRA here, but pointing out that some people join some national organization and figure that’s enough fighting for them. They’ve done their part.
And it’s pretty clear that these people want more than just a nullification of the tax stamp’s cost. The fact that we have to get a tax stamp at all is the major issue, and we want the Hearing Protection Act and the Stop Harassing Owners of Rifles Today Act, as they were written, as part of the budget process.
The anti-gunners have pulled this stunt repeatedly, putting various measures into the budget process because they know how difficult it is to vote against the budget for either side, and they get what they want through the back door. We can and should use this same process against them.
But we need lawmakers with a spine to step up and do what’s right for a change, and not just try to throw us scraps, and not even scraps from the king’s table, but the peasant’s.
That won’t happen unless we, the voters, pressure them. They need to be afraid that if they don’t put this language in the budget that they’ll be out of a job well before the general election.
Turn up the heat, and do it fast enough that they jump.
Read the full article here