By Tanya Metaksa
What’s New— The BATFE attempts to make it easier to transport NFA guns across state lines. Delaware: Last week, the Permit to Purchase legislation went into effect; The Four Boxes Diner video: Thanksgiving weekend video on immigration policy; Missouri: Recently, Governor Mike Kehoe signed a proclamation designating November 2025 as Wild Game Meat Donation Month.
BATFE attempts to make it easier to transport NFA guns across state lines
The Trump Administration is working to simplify federal bureaucracy as it pertains to owning and transporting firearms under the National Firearms Act (NFA)—especially machine guns and short‑barreled rifles (SBRs). These firearms now follow a somewhat simplified federal process. However, the legal risks for ordinary Americans who own or want to own these weapons remain high. The new ATF “notice‑based” system for interstate movement may reduce bureaucratic delays, but it doesn’t significantly lower the danger of criminal charges, loss of rights, or selective enforcement when owners cross state lines.
Federal rules still create traps.
Under federal law, most NFA firearms—such as machine guns, SBRs, short‑barreled shotguns (SBSs), and destructive devices—must have ATF authorization via Form 5320.20 to be transported across state lines. The ATF’s move toward treating Form 20 as a “notice‑based” filing, rather than a purely discretionary permission slip, reduces processing delays but upholds the criminal ban (no transportation without authorization). NFA owners transporting such firearms without fulfilling the form requirement are still subject to federal charges.
For ordinary owners, the danger lies in the gap between how the process feels and how the statute actually operates. Law-abiding gun owners may underestimate the legal consequences of a late, incomplete, or missing form if they believe the federal system is merely a notification. Any brief lapse in paperwork can turn a routine move, a shooting match, or a family visit into a federal felony that carries potential imprisonment, forfeiture of all involved firearms, and permanent loss of gun rights.
State bans turn federal compliance into a false sense of security.
Even perfect federal compliance does nothing to legalize possession in states that outright ban the underlying item—machine guns, SBRs/SBSs, or suppressors. Many jurisdictions restrict or prohibit civilian use of machine guns (such as California, Illinois, New York, New Jersey, and others), while some also ban suppressors or short‑barreled firearms even if they are fully compliant with federal NFA registration.
This patchwork means that an owner can be completely lawful at home and with the ATF, but instantly become a felon by crossing into a neighboring state that bans that category of firearm or accessory. The risk is increased by unclear state rules—“assault weapon” definitions, barrel‑length differences, and registration or licensing requirements—that are hard for non‑lawyers to understand, but that carry severe criminal penalties when broken.
How the “streamlined” process changes behavior.
ATF’s reform initiative fosters a more predictable and partnership‑focused regulatory environment and specifically emphasizes transforming Form 20 into a faster, more notice‑driven process, possibly through eForms. For travelers, the practical impact is that planning can be done on shorter timelines: instead of waiting weeks for approval by mail or fax, owners can submit electronically, get quicker acknowledgments, and feel more comfortable scheduling travel like non‑NFA gun owners.
But that very convenience can encourage more frequent interstate use of NFA items, thereby increasing the odds of missteps: a trip booked before paperwork is confirmed, a last‑minute route change into a hostile jurisdiction, or a misunderstanding about how specific dates or destinations must match what was filed. The formal shift in ATF posture does not change the reality that prosecutors or hostile local agencies can exploit any discrepancy between form, itinerary, and underlying state law if something goes wrong during a stop, search, or investigation.
Unequal burdens and civil rights implications.
The federal‑state system consistently favors sophisticated, well-funded owners—those with regular access to legal counsel, familiarity with ATF procedures, and the ability to arrange travel to meet regulatory demands—over everyday citizens. The burden of mistakes falls most heavily on working‑class owners, new buyers, and those without stable housing or jobs, for whom a single technical violation can lead to jail time, job loss, or disqualification from future lawful gun ownership.
Furthermore, NFA enforcement has traditionally focused on specific communities and areas, and strict state‑level bans on NFA weapons often align with broader issues of over‑policing and discretionary charges. This creates situations where the same technical violation—such as a defective Form 20 or a misunderstood barrel‑length rule—can lead to very different outcomes depending on the owner, their location, and how local authorities exercise their discretion.
Comparing categories of NFA risk
Different NFA items carry different mixes of federal and state risk for interstate travel:
| NFA category | Typical federal travel rule | Common state‑law overlay | Key danger point |
| Machineguns | Form 20 notice/authorization required before interstate transport. | Many states prohibit civilian MGs outright or limit them to narrow exemptions. | Owner may assume federal registration plus Form 20 is enough, only to face state‑level felony charges upon entering a ban state. |
| SBRs/SBSs | Form 20 required for interstate movement. | Some states ban short‑barreled configurations or treat them as “assault weapons,” while others require extra state registration. | Small configuration changes (stock, barrel, brace) can push a rifle into a prohibited category under complex state definitions. |
| Suppressors | No federal Form 20 requirement, but still NFA‑registered. | Several states and D.C. ban suppressors entirely for civilians. | Owners may focus on interstate rules for SBRs/MGs and forget that a silencer in the same vehicle is independently unlawful in certain states. |
The new ATF stance does nothing to justify these state differences; instead, it introduces a more streamlined federal administrative path on top of a still‑fragmented and often hostile state‑law landscape. From a civil rights perspective, that combination—easy initiation of lawful actions paired with harsh penalties for crossing invisible jurisdictional boundaries—creates a high‑risk environment in which NFA ownership and interstate travel remain legally dangerous for many Americans.
If you’re unsure about how to transport such weapons, several online lawyers are available to help you comply with federal and state regulations. This isn’t legal advice, just some cautionary tips to help gun owners navigate confusing laws and regulations.
USA Carry reports on the new Trump DOJ “Second Amendment Rights Section.”
USA Carry was one of the first to report that the DOJ is creating a new “Second Amendment Rights Section” within the Civil Rights Division. This new division is set to begin work this Thursday, Dec. 4. President Trump’s February 2025 executive order is the basis for the creation of this new DOJ section. It will investigate state and local measures that may infringe on the constitutional right to keep and bear arms.
The new DOJ section will focus on local and state laws, policies, and permitting practices that may burden lawful gun ownership. The Civil Rights Division’s portfolio will now add Second Amendment enforcement its traditional work on race discrimination and police misconduct. The Civil Rights Division was already involved in a probe into the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department over alleged “slow‑walked” concealed‑carry permits late this summer. Similar patterns in other jurisdictions are expected to follow suit.
The move is hailed as a significant shift in federal civil rights priorities toward explicit protection of gun rights. Critics, including former Civil Rights Division attorney Stacey Young, argue that emphasizing Second Amendment enforcement departs from the division’s historic mission and risks diluting efforts to protect vulnerable groups from discrimination and abusive policing.
The DOJ has already informed Congress that the new office will be created using existing staff and resources, and that the Office of Management and Budget did not object, meaning no new appropriation or formal congressional approval is needed for the reorganization. The article concludes that, by targeting restrictive state and local gun regulations through this new unit, DOJ could ease regulatory burdens on law-abiding gun owners while demonstrating a long-term, institutional commitment to Second Amendment enforcement within federal civil rights agencies.
The Four Boxes Diner video: Thanksgiving weekend video on immigration policy
The video argues that Donald Trump’s new immigration policy proposal—halting and reversing “third world” migration and denaturalizing/deporting certain non‑citizens—is essential to preserving the Second Amendment and broader “American” traditions.
Mark Smith contends that large‑scale immigration from “third-world” countries, especially under Biden, is intentionally designed to create new Democratic voters who will support gun control, welfare expansion, court‑packing, and statehood for D.C. and Puerto Rico, thereby threatening gun rights and other constitutional liberties. He frames Trump’s promise to “permanently pause migration” from such countries, cancel “Biden illegal admissions,” strip benefits from non‑citizens, denaturalize migrants deemed harmful, and deport those seen as “public charges” or “non‑compatible with Western civilization” as a necessary corrective.
Smith’s argument is based on the most recent terrorist attack in Washington, D.C., by an Afghan national who was resettled during the Biden administration’s disastrous Afghanistan withdrawal. The murderer’s family is represented as inevitable future Democratic voters funded by taxpayers and hostile to core rights like free speech and gun ownership. He worries that if Democrats rely on immigrant-derived electoral power, they will take over permanent control of Congress, the presidency, and the judiciary. This change will fill the courts with more Justices like Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson and ultimately interpret the Second Amendment as a non‑individual, police-focused provision.
He encourages the gun‑rights community to prioritize immigration restriction over technical Second Amendment jurisprudence in the long run because political and demographic shifts could render favorable precedents meaningless if courts and legislatures change direction.
State Legislature
The following states are still in SESSION:
Massachusetts, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin
Delaware: Last week, the Permit to Purchase legislation went into effect. The new law imposes a Maryland-style “handgun qualified purchase card” and a handgun transfer registry. Only gun owners with a gun carry permit will be exempt from the permit-to-purchase requirement.
Missouri: Recently, Governor Mike Kehoe signed a proclamation designating November 2025 as Wild Game Meat Donation Month in Missouri.
