Quote of the Day
The tax stamp requirement for firearms and suppressors listed as controlled items under the National Firearms Act was intended to suppress Americans’ desire to fully-exercise their Second Amendment rights. It was – and is – a ‘sin tax. However, there is no sin in exercising a Constitutionally-protected right. We appreciate the leadership of Representative Hinson and Senator Cotton to eliminate this tax that only serves as a barrier to law-abiding citizens keeping and bearing arms.
Larry Keane
NSSF Senior Vice President and General Counsel
April 14, 2025
RIFLE-men: Boozman-Cotton Legislation Would Remove $200 NFA Tax
This is a good first step. I think the next step would be to do away with redundant background check. Just use NICS.
Then the registration requirements should go away to be replaced with an ordinary 4473s.
Elimination of 4473s and NICS can wait until Q4 of 2025.
Sin taxes, in general, often backfire when the government or some portion of it becomes dependent on the revenue. Sin taxes are supposed to depress consumption but that also depresses revenue. Punitive tobacco taxes have had this effect and have created a smuggling industry. It the case of marijuana taxes, there was a preexisting tax-free alternative leading to lost revenue and multiple bankruptcies in the semi-legal part of the industry.
Getting rid of the tax – and NFA in general – are really excellent ideas which are long overdue. I don’t actually mind too much having to do a NICS check to buy a suppressor, because it serves to establish that they are treated, individually, as firearms, with all the protections of the 2A. If they are “just” an accessory, then the slippery slope becomes available to restrict them, as with forward grips, pistol braces, and shoulder things that go up.
Steps in the right direction are always good and welcome.
Thanks again Joe. I know you put a lot of money and effort behind these movements.
As a suggestion, maybe a one page bill called the; “Shall not be infringed act”. Declaring anything as a bearable arm or accessory there to cannot be restricted or taxed. By any government official or agency of any government inside the territory of the of the United States of America.
Any act violating this law will be considered a violation of the 2nd. amendment of the constitution of the United States and shall be punishable by no less than total banishment from all territory of the United States, after being stripped of all property and possession.
Less the clothes on their back, and $20.00 cash money.
And the punishment for being caught on United States Territory ever again will to be publicly hanged.
Just happy dreaming.
Along with this get rid of the TSA (Theater of Security A$$holes). Since we need to prevent tangoes from turning aircraft into 200,000-pound missiles, let the individual airlines decide how to handle their security. A solid, non-openable bulkhead (with a tiny one-man emergency hatch for in-flight inspections) between the cockpit and passenger area, with completely separate entrances to the aircraft would do it. To help ensure that the airlines actually do this, make sure that their legal liability for the consequences of a hijacking is 100%.
In the passenger area each airline could decide its own level of security. “Security Is Us” airlines could have individual sealed passenger tubes (with air/water/waste tubes) into which each passenger is placed and then loaded into racks. “Freedom In The Skies” airline could rent full-auto weapons to any passenger who didn’t bring their own and charge them for the ammo. In either case, NOTHING that happens back in the passenger area would affect the cockpit, and the pilots could land the plane with the cabin awash in blood if necessary.
Naturally most airlines would fall somewhere between these two extremes, but citizens would be able to exercise their own choice of how “safe” they feel they need to be. In any case it should be made clear that American citizens should not be forced to sacrifice their 2nd Amendment rights at the entrance to an airport simply to exercise their right to freely travel.
Or we could just get rid of the assholes that want to do such things in our society. (It ain’t like we don’t know who they are.)
Throw in a handful of air marshals.
Problem solved.
We’ll be back to the friendly sky’s in no time.
Remove, and forbid the installation of cockpit doors. Being able to lock out concerned passengers is what makes it possible to take control of an aircraft. Don’t forget there have been cases where one of the pilots has locked out the other one and then proceeded to take them all with him as he killed himself by crashing it.
Yes, and delete that abomination of a government department, the TSA. Worthless thieves, and that is being charitable.
Actually, as originally written, the 1934 act was intended to ban all handguns, but roosevelt and his commierads were told that wouldn’t be possible/a good idea so they looked around and went for the EEEEVVVVIILL gangster guns instead. The $200 tax stamp was figured to be several months wages for the “common” man at the time. (Didn’t bother the gangsters of course.)