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While much of the coverage surrounding the House passing President Trump’s “one big beautiful bill” has centered on tax cuts, it also provides a win to Second Amendment supporters.
The bill removes suppressors from the National Firearms Act. Suppressors, also known as silencers, reduce but do not eliminate the sound that guns make when they are fired. Gun rights advocates have supported loosening their regulation, saying it is an issue of protecting the hearing of gun owners.
The legislation would eliminate a $200 tax on gun silencers, registration, and background checks for their purchase and possession that have existed since 1934. The American Suppressor Association calls the tax unconstitutional and “impedes the ability of all Americans to exercise their Second Amendment rights.”
The National Rifle Association is celebrating the House passage and calling on the Senate to do likewise.
“This represents a monumental victory for Second Amendment rights, eliminating burdensome regulations on the purchase of critical hearing protection devices,” the executive director of the NRA’s legislative action arm, John Commerford, says. “The NRA thanks the House members who supported this bill and urges its swift passage in the U.S. Senate.”
“Giffords,” the gun violence prevention group led by a former congresswoman, Gabby Giffords, condemned the legislation. “Silencers will only enable shooters to cause more violence and damage without being detected,” Ms. Giffords’s executive director, Emma Brown, says. “Law enforcement has opposed efforts to make silencers more accessible for a reason — they’re dangerous and make their jobs harder.”
The proposal would not legalize suppressors in the eight states where ownership is prohibited, according to the American Suppressor Association. The courts are considering lawsuits on those prohibitions.
Mr. Trump has promised a rollback of gun-control policies. In February, he issued an executive order directing the attorney general to examine all possible executive actions and present a proposed plan to protect Second Amendment rights.
The administration has also signaled it could shift its positions on several pending Second Amendment cases, including one asking the courts whether ownership of suppressors should be protected by the Constitution. Ms. Bondi’s chief of staff says the Department of Justice has asked for a pause in the case involving suppressors.
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