ATF Drives Another Nail in the Coffin of NFA Silencer Rule

Donald Trump, under both terms so far, has taken a somewhat confusing stance on the Second Amendment and gun control. But the latest action by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives — ATF — seems to tip the scale more toward the right to keep and bear arms.

In an open letter published Friday, October 9, the ATF announced it would no longer enforce the tax and registration regulations regarding suppressors, short-barreled rifles, and short-barreled shotguns found in the National Firearms Act of 1934. Is it the final nail in the NFA coffin? Not quite – but it’s a step in the right direction.

A Love Letter to the Second Amendment?

“Under the ATF’s guidance, ATF will not enforce the requirements for individuals to apply and receive ATF approval before making or transferring short-barreled rifles, short-barreled shotguns, suppressors (silencers), and certain other concealable firearms known in the law as ‘any other weapons,’” the Bureau related in an accompanying press release. “ATF will also not enforce the NFA’s registration, tax-stamp or related requirements for those covered items.”

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As explained in the letter, a US district judge ruled on August 5 that the ATF couldn’t enforce those regulations since the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) stripped away the “tax” that empowered America’s first successful Second Amendment workaround. Attorney General Todd Blanche then declined to appeal the decision and announced that the policy decision would apply to everyone rather than just those covered by the Silencer Shop Foundation v. ATF injunction.

“The direction from the President, Congress, and the courts is clear,” ATF Director Rob Cekada declared. “ATF is now following suit with our enforcement posture while continuing to ensure we remain focused where we are needed the most: combatting violent crime in American communities.”

ATF Rules Aren’t Laws: The NFA and Federal Gun Control Live On

The Bureau explained that the guidance does not supersede state or local laws that restrict NFA firearms. Since many states have their own regulations requiring registration, the ATF will still process applications. For people in those states that do not, however, there is no need to file.

Furthermore, these items remain firearms under the law – even suppressors, which don’t technically fit the law’s definition of an actual firearm except by their inclusion in the list. The legal definition of a firearm is:

“(A) any weapon (including a starter gun) which will or is designed to or may be readily converted to expel a projectile by the action of an explosive; (B) the frame or receiver of any such weapon; (C) any firearm muffler or firearm silencer; or (D) any destructive device. Such term does not include an antique firearm.”

So, thanks to the explicit inclusion of silencer or muffler in the NFA itself, an item that doesn’t actually fire a round is considered a firearm, while far more critical components – like bolt carrier groups, upper receivers, triggers, and barrels – are not, and while black powder guns and even cannons – which technically do fit the (A) section of the law despite being excluded – aren’t considered firearms either.

This is likely no surprise when it comes to SBRs and SBSs – which, of course, are firearms by every definition. But it may shock some to find that silencers, which cannot fire a round, still require filing ATF Form 4473 and passing a background check through the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS).

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The rule change and the OBBBA that inspired it don’t touch the NFA’s regulation of machine guns or destructive devices like grenades and rocket launchers. And finally, ATF policies are as easy to change as ATF directors and presidents. Sure, a rule change might be challenged in court, but it lacks the power and relative permanence of actual legislation. Unless something radical changes in the Democratic Party platform, the next Democrat in the White House will undo this rule almost immediately — or, at least, try to.

So, the nation’s oldest institutional infringement of the Second Amendment is alive and well today, as are all the other gun control laws it paved the way for. Still, though this rule change is far from the final nail in the NFA coffin, it does make America feel just a little bit freer.