By Dave Workman
Editor-in-Chief
UPDATED: The Second Amendment Foundation and six other gun rights groups have signed an open letter decrying a ruling by the Senate parliamentarian which blocked language in the “One Big, Beautiful Bill” that removed suppressors and short-barreled rifles and shotguns from regulation under the National Firearms Act (NFA).
However, Republicans were able to insert language which does eliminate the $200 tax on those items, although they still must be registered. The parliamentarian has reportedly approved the tax elimination language.
SAF is joined by the National Rifle Association, Gun Owners of America, American Suppressor Association, National Association of Sporting Goods Wholesalers, F.A.I.R. Trade Group and the Firearms Policy Coalition. Their message is simple:
“Unless the Senate chooses to overrule her egregious decision or the Majority Leader removes the existing parliamentarian, which is well within their rights, immediate action must be taken to ensure law-abiding Americans are able to exercise their Second Amendment rights without the draconian NFA tax.
“Though not the full tax repeal it should have been, there is still an opportunity to use well-established precedent to lower the NFA’s unconstitutional excise tax on suppressors and short-barreled firearms to zero dollars.
“Our organizations stand united on behalf of millions of law-abiding gun owners in calling on Congress to immediately make this revision. This is a critical step in our fight against the unconstitutional NFA tax scheme and for the rights of all Americans.”
Under language in the current Senate version, the $200 tax still is levied on machineguns or “destructive devices.” There is no tax on any firearm not described as a machinegun.
The changes are found on Page 491 of the bill.
Alan Gottlieb, chairman of the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, told Breitbart News, “We are happy to get rid of the tax, even though it is not the total solution we wanted.”
CCRKBA is a sister organization to SAF.
According to The Hill, getting this language back into the bill was a “win” for Texas Sen. John Cornyn. He had pushed for the measure.
Anti-gunners have opposed the tax elimination.
What remains now is to see whether the tax elimination on short-barreled firearms and suppressors remains in the text.
