The Hearing Protection Act (HPA) and the Stop Harassing Owners of Rifles Today (SHORT) Act have stalled in the House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee.
The HPA (H.R. 404) would remove suppressors from the National Firearms Act of 1934 (NFA). Currently, suppressors must be registered with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ (ATF’s) NFA Division, and the owner must pay for a $200 tax stamp. Suppressors will remain a Gun Control Act of 1968 (GCA) item, meaning a single Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) check would be needed to acquire the item. They would be treated like any other firearm. The SHORT Act (H.R. 2395) would remove short-barreled rifles (SBRs) from the NFA.
The Ways and Means Committee is headed by Jason Smith (R-MO). The Committee is holding up both pro-gun bills from passing out of committee. The majority of the Committee is comprised of Republicans, and the bills should be passed with a slam dunk, but three different scenarios could play out in the committee.
The first option is the HPA, and the SHORT Act can pass out of the Committee unchanged. Most gun owners have been begging Congress to pass this option for years. The deregulation of suppressors and SBRs would be the most significant Second Amendment win through Congress in years. The Republicans can cement themselves as the true defenders of gun rights, something many within the 2A community have doubted.
The Committee’s second option is to modify the bill’s language to keep suppressors and SBRs on the NFA, but lower the tax stamp fees. Although this would be better than the current $200 fee, the majority of gun owners would only be satisfied with the total delisting of suppressors and SBRs from the NFA. Most will accept nothing other than the complete delisting of SBRs and suppressors from the NFA. Some Republicans on the committee might see the lowering of fees as a victory, but many think they will become pariahs in the gun community.
The third option is not to pass the bill out of the House Ways and Means Committee. With the majority of Republicans in control, this is the least likely outcome, although Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) has taken extreme gun control stances in the past, including advocating for an “assault weapon” ban. Although it has not been confirmed, most expect Fitzpatrick not to back any bill restoring gun rights. Luckily for gun owners, most Republicans do not take such an anti-2A stance.
Other members, such as Blake Moore (R-UT), have not indicated how they will vote. These Representatives have faced massive pressure from gun groups such as Gun Owners of America (GOA), who put out a call to their members to contact their reps to push through the full HPA and SHORT Act without stripping anything out of the bills. According to sources on the Hill, the members of the House Ways and Means Committee have had their phones ringing off the hook, with gun owners encouraging them to advance the two bills as is.
The bills’ markup is scheduled for Tuesday. According to House rules, a draft markup must be presented by Sunday night. The window is closing for gun owners to make their voices heard. Gun-owning Americans are making a difference in the fight over the bills’ language, and pro-gun groups are asking the gun community for one last push.
Committee members’ names and numbers can be found here.
About John Crump
John is an NRA instructor and a constitutional activist. Mr. Crump has written about firearms, interviewed people of all walks of life, and on the Constitution. John lives in Northern Virginia with his wife and sons and can be followed on Twitter at @crumpyss, or at www.crumpy.com.
