The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals 3-judge panel ruled that suppressors are not firearms but an accessory and are not protected by the 2nd Amendment and the Department of Justice (DOJ) responded the same that a suppressor is not a firearm but an accessory.
Yet the National Firearms Act (NFA) and Gun Control Act (GCA) says A suppressor is legally defined as a “firearm” under the National Firearms Act (NFA) and Gun Control Act (GCA).
Key Legal Definitions
- 26 U.S.C. § 5845(a)(7) – Classifies a suppressor as a “firearm” under the NFA.
- 26 U.S.C. § 5845(f) – Defines a suppressor as “any device for silencing, muffling, or diminishing the report of a portable firearm.”
- The National Firearms Act (NFA) was signed into law on June 26, 1934, in response to violent crime during Prohibition.
- Suppressors were classified as “firearms” under the NFA in 1934, meaning they required registration, a tax stamp, and ATF approval to own.
- The original tax stamp was $200 (the same cost today, but in 1934, it was meant to be a prohibitive cost).
- Gun Control Act of 1968 (18 U.S.C. § 921(a)(24)) (which defines suppressor parts as “firearms”) – Includes all parts intended for suppressor assembly.
- he Gun Control Act (GCA) of 1968 was signed into law on October 22, 1968, following the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy, and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
- This law expanded the definition of “firearm” to include any combination of parts that can be assembled into a suppressor, effectively making individual suppressor components subject to regulation.
These existing laws clearly define suppressors as “firearms,” as stated and recorded in the National Firearms Act (NFA) and other legal frameworks. Given that no legislation has been passed to reclassify them as accessories, how can the Court and the Department of Justice suddenly assert that suppressors are accessories?
Hearing Protection Act (HPA) in 2017 and 2025
- Objective:To remove suppressors from regulation under the National Firearms Act (NFA), reclassifying them under the Gun Control Act (GCA)
- Status: As of March 2025, the HPA has been introduced but has not passed into law. continuing the effort to pass the bill after it failed to progress in prior sessions.
Summary
While there have been attempts through both the courts and legislation to reclassify suppressors as accessories, these efforts have not resulted in a change in their classification to date. Suppressors remain regulated under the NFA, requiring registration and a tax stamp for legal ownership.
If we allow the government to arbitrarily reclassify items as mere accessories, where does it end? Today, it’s suppressors—tomorrow, it could be scopes, red dots, and magazines. Do you see where this is headed?
Write to the President and the Attorney General to express our dissatisfaction with the direction this is heading. Let them know we expect them to take action to stop this and uphold our Second Amendment rights.
The Office of Donald J. Trump: https://www.45office.com/
Attorney General Pam Bondi: https://www.justice.gov/contact-us
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