Pushback: Activists Want Relief from NFA; More Demands for Bondi to Act

In the weeks after the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms called on U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi to unleash the Justice Department’s “2A Task Force” on a dozen states where gun control laws have gone to the extreme, politicians in Colorado, and now New York members of Congress are asking for the same attention.

Colorado Republican lawmakers signed a letter to Bondi in April calling on Bondi to launch a probe into the new gun control law just enacted in the Centennial State. CCRKBA launched an online petition to Bondi asking for a probe into the “Dirty Dozen” states, which is still active here.

And just days ago, a coalition of 20 gun rights advocates representing several different organizations have signed a letter to U.S. Representatives Jodey C. Arrington, chair of the House Budget Committee, and Virginia Foxx, chair of the House Rules Committee, to include portions of the Hearing Protection Act (H.R. 404) and the Stop Harassing Owners of Rifles Today (SHORT) Act (H.R. 2395) in the forthcoming reconciliation bill.

It amounts to an expanding campaign to push back on restrictive gun control laws and regulations, which have been stacking up over the course of many years, and the “long story, short” of it is that the Second Amendment community has had enough. With Donald Trump back in the White House and an administration that seems determined to restore the Second Amendment to its full position in the Bill of Rights, the time for action appears to have arrived.

Last week, in their letter to Arrington and Foxx, the 20 signatories state, “The Hearing Protection Act (H.R. 404), introduced by Representative Ben Cline (R-VA-06), seeks to remove firearm suppressors from the NFA’s burdensome regulatory framework, replacing it with a streamlined purchase process for typical accessories. Suppressors, contrary to popular misconceptions, do not silence firearms but significantly reduce noise levels, mitigating the risk of permanent hearing loss for shooters and hunters. The American Academy of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery has endorsed suppressors as effective tools for preventing hearing damage, a public health concern affecting millions of Americans. The current NFA requirements — including a $200 tax stamp for both manufacture and transfer of the devices, extensive paperwork, and excessive waiting times — serve no meaningful public safety purpose while imposing undue financial and administrative burdens on responsible citizens. With over 4.8 million suppressors in civilian circulation, their widespread use underscores the need for reform.

“Similarly,” the letter continues, “the SHORT Act (H.R. 2395) addresses the arbitrary NFA classification of short-barreled rifles (SBRs) and short-barreled shotguns (SBSs), which subjects them to the same onerous regulations as transferable machine guns and other highly restricted devices. This outdated framework, rooted in 1930s-era fears of organized crime, lacks relevance in the modern context, where SBRs and SBSs pose no greater threat than standard rifles or shotguns. The SHORT Act would delist these firearms from the NFA, eliminating unnecessary barriers to ownership and ensuring that law-abiding Americans are not penalized for exercising their constitutional rights.”

This came two days after New York Republican Congresswomen Elise Stefanik and Claudia Tenney wrote in a letter to Bondi, “New York State has enacted and enforced a sweeping regime of laws that infringe upon the Second Amendment rights of its citizens, in direct defiance of precedent set by the Supreme Court and the Constitution. This is unacceptable, and law-abiding gun owners must be protected.”

Among those activists sending the letter to Foxx and Arrington were Paul Valone, president of Grass Roots North Carolina, Kevin Starrett at the Oregon Firearms Federation and Gary Marbut, president of the Montana Shooting Sports Association.

“Beyond the likely unconstitutionality of the restrictions to what SCOTUS has affirmed to be a basic civil right under the Second Amendment,” Valone said, “use of SBRs and suppressors in crime are rare, yet they are as tightly regulated as machine guns.”

“If Republicans are serious about restoring mainstream American values, including the right to keep and bear arms,” he added, “we demand that they use this opportunity to repeal restrictions which never should have been implemented to begin with.”

Marbut, via email, told AmmoLand News, “It is long past time for innocuous items such as suppressors and SBRs to be removed from the NFA.  We’d all like to see the prohibition-era NFA go away entirely, but removing suppressors and SBRs from the NFA would be a step in the right direction.  Prohibition is over and the NFA is simply not consistent with the intent of our Nation’s Founders.”

Oregon’s Kevin Starrett had this observation: “Anyone with even a cursory understanding of firearms and suppressors understands that regulating them under the NFA simply makes no sense.  Short barreled rifles and shotguns are no more dangerous than any other firearm and suppressors don’t ‘silence’ anything. The restrictions on these items are just a reflection of the ignorance of people who get to make laws without knowledge or accountability.”

Here’s the complete roster of activists who signed the NFA letter:

Paul Valone, President, Grass Roots North Carolina/Exec. Director, Rights Watch International; Gary Marbut, President, Montana Shooting Sports Association; Philip Van Cleave, President, Virginia Citizens Defense League; Sean Caranna, Executive Director, Florida Carry, Inc.; Tom King, President, New York State Rifle & Pistol Assoc.; Rep. JR Hoell, President, New Hampshire Firearms Coalition, Inc.; Kevin Starrett, Director, Oregon Firearms Federation; Mike Duralia, President, South Carolina Carry; Matthew Andras, President, Coalition of New Jersey Firearm Owners (CNJFO); Richard Pearson, Exec. Director, Illinois State RIFLE Association; Kimberly Morin, President, Women’s Defense League of NH; Klint Macro, President, Allegheny County Sportsmen’s League; Rich Kerlin, President; Beaver County Sportsmen’s Conservation League; Blaine Toy, President, Unified Sportsmen of Pennsylvania; Rob Pincus, Director, 2nd Amendment Organization; Dianna Muller, President, Women for Gun Rights; J.R. Stoker Jr., President, Firearms Owners Against Crime Institute; Dr. Joe Hannon, VP, Gun Owners of New Hampshire; Dennis Fusaro, Member*Legislative Policy Committee, BOD National Rifle Association, and Jon Richardson, Member*BOD National Rifle Association.

Clearly, pressure is mounting on Bondi and the Task Force to flex some muscle and launch investigations. Whether the focus is on the “Dirty Dozen” states named in the original CCRKBA letter to Bondi—Colorado and New York are both on the list—or some other offending state, such as California, New Jersey, Massachusetts or elsewhere, it would be the first sign that Bondi’s DOJ is ready to back up what she said weeks ago about protecting the Second Amendment. A positive step in that direction is what gun rights advocates have been waiting for.

RELATED:

CCRKBA Launches Petition to Bondi for ‘Dirty Dozen’ Investigations

Gun Owners in Embattled States Beg for Bondi’s ‘2A Task Force’ Attention

About Dave Workman

Dave Workman is a senior editor at TheGunMag.com and Liberty Park Press, author of multiple books on the Right to Keep & Bear Arms, and formerly an NRA-certified firearms instructor.