BELLEVUE, WA – The Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms is delighted components of the Hearing Protection Act (HPA) has been included in the House version of Donald Trump’s “one big, beautiful” budget bill, and is hopeful this measure to remove suppressor regulation from the National Firearms Act (NFA) of 1934 remains intact.
CCRKBA was proud to sign onto a letter sent to House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune encouraging inclusion of the HPA in this budget measure. CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb was joined by dozens of other leaders in the firearms industry and Second Amendment community, including Adam Kraut, executive director of CCRKBA’s sister organization, the Second Amendment Foundation.
“As we noted in the letter,” Gottlieb said, “by removing suppressors from the NFA they will be treated the same as long guns for sale, meaning commercial manufacturers must have a Federal Firearms License, and purchases would be subject to background check requirements. The NFA would not legalize suppressors in any of the eight states where they are currently prohibited.
“But gone is the $200 tax,” he continued, “because American citizens should never be taxed for purchasing a hearing protection device, which essentially has the same function as a car muffler.”
Gottlieb criticized anti-gunners who oppose the HPA for using deliberately misleading information and outright scare tactics in an effort to keep these devices unjustly regulated as if they were a threat to public safety. He noted the effort to deregulate suppressors has been ongoing for several years, and its inclusion in the budget bill is a significant development.
“Removing suppressors from the NFA is a significant step in restoring the Second Amendment to its full status as a constitutional limit on government infringement,” Gottlieb said. “Placing them under the NFA was nothing more than a tax scheme to raise revenue and discourage ownership for no good reason.”