The National Firearms Act was the first federal gun control law ever passed. Created in the wake of gangland warfare during Prohibition, the idea was to disarm the mob.
Of course, killing Prohibition did more for dropping the homicide rate than the NFA did, but it was the law and has been for more than 90 years.
90 years of suck.
Now, we stand on a precipice. We have an opportunity to gut the NFA with the SHORT Act and the Hearing Protection Act. This is a glorious time to be alive for a gun guy.
And for a couple of gun rights groups, it's not nearly enough.
Don't get me wrong, they're celebrating the wins, they just aren't taking them as the fight being close to over.
For example, Gun Owners of America sent this out on Thursday:
Gun Owners of America (GOA) is calling on Congress to stand firm in support of Section 70436 of H.R. 1—the “One Big Beautiful Bill”—which would fully repeal the unconstitutional excise taxes on suppressors, short-barreled rifles, short-barreled shotguns, and any other weapons under the National Firearms Act of 1934 (NFA).
GOA is demanding that lawmakers preserve Section 70436 and adhere to their Independence Day deadline to pass this legislation and deliver a historic win for the Second Amendment.
GOA will continue working with congressional allies and mobilizing grassroots support to ensure this key section remains intact and becomes law.
Sam Paredes, Gun Owners of America Board Member, issued the following statement:
“July 4th is the perfect day to strike down the tyranny of the NFA’s unconstitutional tax scheme. This represents a long-overdue restoration of rights that never should have been taken away in the first place. Congress must not cave or delay. Gun owners expect action—and GOA will hold accountable any lawmaker who tries to gut this historic provision.”
Aidan Johnston, GOA’s Director of Federal Affairs, issued the following statement:
“The One Big Beautiful Bill is a generational opportunity to reclaim ground for the Second Amendment. This would end nearly a century of illegal taxation and federal harassment of gun owners with suppressors and short barrels. We’re urging Congress to keep this GOA-backed provision intact, send the bill to President Trump’s desk by Independence Day, and restore our lost gun rights—no excuses.”
I'm in complete agreement, and I've said as much. Until Trump's signature is on the bill, the fight is far from over. It's a great time to be alive, but it'll be better when you can walk into a gun store and get a rifle with a barrel length under 16 inches and a suppressor to slap on there, and walk out with them the same day.
In a similar vein, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms sent this press release out the same day as GOA's presser.
The Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms has launched a national grassroots mobilization effort to convince the U.S. Senate it must reform the National Firearms Act (NFA) as part of the “One Big, Beautiful Bill.”
“The Senate Finance Committee has adopted key provisions in the reconciliation bill that align with our demands to reform the National Firearms Act (NFA),” CCRKBA Managing Director Andrew Gottlieb said. “These include removing suppressors, short-barreled rifles (SBRs), and short-barreled shotguns (SBSs) from NFA restrictions while eliminating the $200 tax stamp for most items, and ending decades of unconstitutional red tape.
“CCRKBA has joined scores of gun rights organizations in a letter to the Senate leadership, urging them to keep these provisions in the reconciliation bill,” Gottlieb continued. “You can add your name to the letter from Reform NFA Now by clicking on this link. The letter is manually updated weekly so check back in a week and in the meantime share it with your friends.”
The Hearing Protection Act safeguards hearing health by making suppressors accessible, while the SHORT Act ends the arbitrary regulation of SBRs and SBSs. Eliminating NFA taxes removes financial barriers to exercising our constitutional rights. These measures, championed by millions of gun owners, are now within reach, Gottlieb explained.
“The Senate Finance Committee’s legislative text, found at finance.senate.gov, incorporates these changes, marking a monumental victory for gun owners,” the CCRKBA alert notes. “However, the battle is not over. Senate leadership must ensure these provisions remain in the final reconciliation bill, and they need to hear from you.”
Majority Leader John Thune: (202) 224-2321
National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairperson Tim Scott (202) 224-6121
Finance Committee Chairman Mike Crapo (202) 224-6142
“The reconciliation process allows these reforms to bypass filibuster obstacles, but political pressures could weaken or remove them. We cannot allow decades of unconstitutional NFA restrictions to persist,” Gottlieb said. “These measures, championed by millions of gun owners, are now within reach.”
The National Firearm Act would still regulate machine guns, which I think should be the next target on that front, but even there, I think addressing the 1986 ban would be a better place to start. We dismantle the wall keeping us from our rights brick by brick, not with a wrecking ball, only because we don't have one.
We need to keep the pressure up because it's far from done. The Senate still needs to vote, then there's the reconciliation process, where the House and Senate versions are unified into one bill. At any point along the way, our hopes and dreams here can be destroyed. We simply cannot allow that to happen, and we've got the ability prevent it.
But that won't happen if we make our voices heard. We need to be loud. Want to know why we've seen so many defeats over recent years? Because the other side was louder than we were. But we also know that we outnumber them.
Look, I'm pestering my congress critters, and I've got nothing but anti-gun Democrats representing me. I'm probably just screaming at the wall here, but it's what we do. Who knows, if enough of us do it here in my corner of Southwest Georgia, maybe they'll listen.
And if they don't, I vote against them when it's time.
We can do this.
We must do this.
Even if not for ourselves, but for our children.
Keep. It. Up.
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