President Trump’s One Big, Beautiful Bill passed the House today in a 218-214 vote that also advances the recently restored Section 70436, which drops the National Firearms Act tax on suppressors, short-barreled rifles, short-barreled shotguns, and AOWs. The bill retains the NFA’s overall control and regulation of such devices.
With the House’s work done, the OBBB moves to the president’s desk in time for his lauded July 4 signing deadline, but the battle doesn’t end there. Pro-Second Amendment advocates are already planning a follow-up lawsuit targeting the annihilation of the NFA altogether.
After all, what exactly is an NFA tax without an actual tax?
“By eliminating the excise tax on these NFA items, the OBBB will not only lift the heavy burden of an unconstitutional tax from the backs of hard-working Americans, it will also serve as a critical step towards our ultimate goal of dismantling the NFA once and for all,” said the Firearms Policy Coalition in a statement. “While we will continue to fight for the total legislative elimination of the NFA, our organizations are proud to stand together in a new strategic lawsuit to challenge the constitutionality of the NFA in Federal Court.”
Other 2A groups joined the chorus calling for further legal action against the NFA, with the American Suppressor Association President Knox Williams laying out the ASA’s path forward in a statement:
"The One Big Beautiful Bill passed by Congress and sent to President Trump’s desk includes a $200 million annual tax cut for gun owners. While we fought hard on behalf of millions of Americans for full removal of suppressors and other items from the NFA tax scheme, this outcome is a critical step in our plan to dismantle the NFA once and for all. We will not stop fighting until that goal is achieved.”
After passing the Senate in an incredibly tight 50-50 vote Wednesday that required a tiebreaking act by Vice President J.D. Vance, the OBBB narrowly escaped the House. All 212 Democrats voted against the bill. They were joined by two Republicans, Reps. Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania.
The victory is, at best, only a partial win for proponents of a full NFA removal.
“Today, Congress failed to honor its promise to gun owners to properly defang the National Firearms Act. That’s why we’re taking matters into our own hands!” read another statement from the Firearms Policy Coalition. “FPC is proud to announce that - along with the American Suppressor Association, Second Amendment Foundation, and NRA, we are SUING over the NFA!”
Not everyone is keen on the bill’s passage or the looming legal actions against the increasingly geriatric 91-year-old National Firearms Act. Anti-gun group Brady called the bill an “absolute travesty” and “golden gift” to the gun industry, without addressing the fact that there are millions of legally owned suppressors, short-barreled rifles, and other NFA items already in circulation.
Latest data from May also shows that Americans remain strongly invested in their Second Amendment rights, with more than 1 million firearms purchased that month. In fact, those seven-figure sales numbers have held steady every single month since July 2019.
