In case you haven’t heard by now, the NFA is dead. Courts have ruled that without the tax, the NFA can’t stand. So now what? Is it a free for all? Is it open season on all things NFA items? Personally, I’m not so sure the NFA being dead is a good idea nor do I believe the tax is appropriate at $0. Let me explain.
From the ATF’s website “The NFA was originally enacted in 1934. Similar to the current NFA, the original Act imposed a tax on the making and transfer of firearms defined by the Act, as well as a special (occupational) tax on persons and entities engaged in the business of importing, manufacturing, and dealing in NFA firearms. The law also required the registration of all NFA firearms with the Secretary of the Treasury. Firearms subject to the 1934 Act included shotguns and rifles having barrels less than 18 inches in length, certain firearms described as “any other weapons,” machine guns, and firearm mufflers and silencers.“
Seemingly innocent purpose on the surface. The NFA was enacted to help reduce crime since many of the devices on the NFA list were used by gangs of the 1920’s and 1930’s, however as has been proven by the Trump administration, the government having a central list of anything is dangerous on many levels (millions of social security numbers leaked on an unsecured web server by DOGE, attempts to purge voter roles by using Social Security information, etc.). While I support the crime fighting aspects of the NFA, I am concerned that the ATF having this central list of people with items could make us prime targets for political interference to our daily lives.
So what items are on the NFA list? Again, from the ATF’s website:
“The following weapons are regulated under the National Firearms Act (NFA):
* A shotgun having a barrel or barrels of less than 18 inches in length;
* A weapon made from a shotgun if such weapon as modified has an overall length of less than 26 inches or a barrel or barrels of less than 18 inches in length;
* A rifle having a barrel or barrels of less than 16 inches in length;
* A weapon made from a rifle if such weapon as modified has an overall length of less than 26 inches or a barrel or barrels of less than 16 inches in length;
* Any other weapon, as defined in subsection (e);
* A machinegun;
* Any silencer (as defined in section 921 of title 18, United States Code); and
* A destructive device.“
A seemingly reasonable list of items that the government probably should know about in the context of the 1920’s and 1930’s, but in 2026? I’m not so convinced this list is appropriate in today’s age of firearms. Trust me, I can hear the MAGA’s now foaming at the mouth about government registrations and lists and while I agree to some extent, I do still believe there should be a registration requirement for two items from this list; a machine gun and a destructive device.
I believe the $200 tax was a bit excessive however it does discourage the casual sale of these items like every day AR’s. However, I also don’t believe a $200 tax is appropriate on these kinds of items either. I would advocate for a lower tax and still have a mandatory registration requirement while removing all of the other items from the NFA.
A shotgun with less than an 18″ barrel is still as deadly as one with an 18″ barrel. A rifle less than 16″ can still be lethal. Why does it matter if these are registered? Now I know the same argument can be made about machine guns and destructive devices, I’m not that dense, however a machine gun can cause much more destruction than someone with a binary trigger on an SBR. In my eyes, its about perspective.
With the tax being eliminated by Congress, it now makes the purpose of the NFA null. While I disagree with the NFA being terminated completely, I do believe there is certainly room for improvement. I fear now with the NFA being eliminated, will we see a return to the level of crimes and violence as before? Before you even say it, I know criminals don’t follow the laws, however now that there is no barrier other than a background check to own a machine gun, shouldn’t there be at least SOME concern about the rise in crime involving these types of weapons?
If the geriatrics on the Hill could ever put aside their Super PAC money and actually do something GOOD for America, maybe we could fix aspects of the NFA without it being overbearing.
But I’ll keep dreaming…
Take care of yourself and each other.
Evan
