Explore The NRA Universe Of Websites

APPEARS IN News

Pro-Gun Members of Congress Demand Answers from ATF on Mass Suppressor Application Denials

Monday, March 28, 2022

Pro-Gun Members of Congress Demand Answers from ATF on Mass Suppressor Application Denials

Recently, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) – under the direction of Joe Biden and Merrick Garland – has been on a tear of upsetting settled understandings and changing enforcement policies. But pro-gun members of the United States Senate and House of Representatives have taken note and are now demanding answers of their own.

Gun owners by now are used to the drill, although it never gets more justifiable or legitimate. An anti-gun White House and attorney general assume control, and suddenly years of practice, precedent, and agreed meaning go out the window at ATF.

Even though the words of statutes and – in some cases, regulations – havent changed, things that were understood to be legal are suddenly declared illegal. 

And gun owners and industry members who in good faith are trying to comply with the law while exercising their rights or earning their livings suddenly find themselves threatened with criminal penalties for actions theyve taken openly for years without any suggestion of wrongdoing. Sometimes the actions have even been expressly approved by ATFs own prior statements or rulings.

We have been reporting on one of the latest and most ridiculous examples, in which ATF is denying applications to make suppressors by law-abiding and eligible applicants on the tortured logic that if you can make a suppressor out of something, that thing is already a suppressor.

For example, a flashlight tube or solvent trap can obviously be used for applications having to do with flashlights and gun cleaning.

But if a person wants to repurpose these materials into use in making a suppressor, and volunteers that information to the government with an application to make, register, and pay tax on said item (known as a Form 1), ATF has begun denying that good faith attempt to comply with the law.

Worse, it is suggesting the person may already be a criminal for collecting and possessing the unregistered construction materials, which – so ATFs position now goes – should have been transferred to the person as if they were already suppressors.

Needless to say, ATF cannot cite any case where a person filed a Form 1 to make a suppressor, had it approved, built it, and then went on to use the item illegally, much less to harm or kill someone with it.

Thats because the only people filing these forms are those trying to comply with the law. To target them, and suggest public safety is somehow enhanced, is facially ridiculous. 

Fortunately, numerous senators and members of Congress have demanded ATF answer for this unilateral, persecutory, and unbeneficial reimagining of unchanged law.

Under the leadership of Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT), 25 senators wrote a letter dated March 16 to Acting ATF Director Marvin Richardson, criticizing the move and asking a series of questions to gain perspective, understanding, and background about it.

The ATF is overstepping their authority by rejecting law-abiding Americansattempts to create and own a silencer,” the letter stated.

It then demanded ATF produce answers to such questions as why the recent actions were taken, how ATF makes the relevant determinations, why these applications used to be approved and are now being denied, and ATFs posture toward retroactive enforcement of this policy and attempts to fix violations.” The letter additionally required the production of documents and other evidence related to the development of the new enforcement” policy.

A similar letter dated March 18 was signed by 142 members of Congress under the leadership of Andy Biggs (R-AZ), Ranking Member of the House Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security, within the Judiciary Committee.

The House letter strongly condemned ATFs actions, characterizing them as a continuation of the Biden Administrations assault on AmericansSecond Amendment rights.” It also warned they were contrary to years of ATF precedent and beyond the scope of the agencys authority under federal law.” The letter contained a detailed explanation of how ATF has created a Catch-22 that puts applicants in the position of potentially disclosing what ATF declares illegal activity, simply by attempting to comply with the application process.

The House members also asked ATF to answer questions like those posed by their Senate colleagues and to produce supporting and background evidence.

The NRA is grateful for the leadership of Sen. Daines and Rep. Biggs in these efforts and for our elected officialswillingness to take their oversight responsibilities seriously. As the ONLY law-making body in the U.S. constitutional system, Congress must protect its prerogatives and the rights of innocent Americans from politically-driven overreach by the Executive Branch.

Hopefully ATF will promptly respond to these inquiries, and perhaps even reconsider its new position.

Whatever happens, NRA-ILA will continue to update this unfolding story.

TRENDING NOW
Trump’s DOJ Will Participate in Oral Arguments in Illinois Semi-Auto Ban Case

News  

Monday, September 15, 2025

Trump’s DOJ Will Participate in Oral Arguments in Illinois Semi-Auto Ban Case

Within six months of the landmark United States Supreme Court decision of NYSRPA v. Bruen (2022), Illinois disregarded the Court’s clear directives and enacted into law H.B. 5741, the Protect Illinois Communities Act (PICA). 

Armed Citizens: Not Just an American Concept

News  

Monday, September 15, 2025

Armed Citizens: Not Just an American Concept

We frequently post stories about law-abiding citizens who, by exercising their rights protected under the Second Amendment, bring an end to violent criminal assaults.  

New York Law Imperils U.S. Olympic Target Shooting, Favors China’s Dominance

News  

Monday, September 15, 2025

New York Law Imperils U.S. Olympic Target Shooting, Favors China’s Dominance

As U.S. shooting sports athletes prepare for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles, New York law is burdening target shooters in the Empire State.

Third Circuit Strikes Some New Jersey Carry Restrictions in NRA Case

Thursday, September 11, 2025

Third Circuit Strikes Some New Jersey Carry Restrictions in NRA Case

Yesterday, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals issued an opinion in Siegel v. Platkin, striking some of the carry restrictions New Jersey enacted in response to the NRA’s landmark Supreme Court victory, New York State Rifle & ...

“Sensitive Places” Embolden Criminals and Threaten the Law-abiding

News  

Monday, September 15, 2025

“Sensitive Places” Embolden Criminals and Threaten the Law-abiding

A beyond horrific murder flashed before our eyes in recent weeks, and a nation collectively mourned Iryna Zarutska after the sickening attack that took her life on a public train in Charlotte, North Carolina

California: Legislature Adjourns with Anti-Gun Bills Headed to the Governor's Desk

Monday, September 15, 2025

California: Legislature Adjourns with Anti-Gun Bills Headed to the Governor's Desk

On Friday the California State Legislature adjourned the 2025 legislative session in typical California fashion, advancing anti-gun legislation to Governor Newsom's desk. Contact Governor Newsome today and urge his veto of AB 1078, AB 1127, AB ...

Gun Control “Journalist” Says the Quiet Part Out Loud

News  

Monday, September 8, 2025

Gun Control “Journalist” Says the Quiet Part Out Loud

Pure gun control. As in disarmament and banning of firearms. It’s rare that anti-gunners get straight to the exact point that we have been warning of for decades. 

Colorado: CSSA Files Suit Challenging "Polis Permission Slip" Permit-to-Purchase Law

Tuesday, September 9, 2025

Colorado: CSSA Files Suit Challenging "Polis Permission Slip" Permit-to-Purchase Law

Last week, the Colorado State Shooting Association (CSSA), the official state affiliate of NRA, filed a lawsuit challenging Senate Bill 25-003...

Minnesota: Senate Gun Violence Prevention Working Group Meeting on Monday

Friday, September 12, 2025

Minnesota: Senate Gun Violence Prevention Working Group Meeting on Monday

On Monday, September 15th, the Minnesota Senate will hold a special working group on "gun violence prevention."

The Desperate Deflection to the “Red State Murder Problem”

News  

Monday, September 8, 2025

The Desperate Deflection to the “Red State Murder Problem”

California Governor Gavin Newsom (D) may have thought he had scored against President Donald Trump in a recent war of words over rampant crime and the deployment of federal law enforcement agents to Democratic-led cities

MORE TRENDING +
LESS TRENDING -

More Like This From Around The NRA

NRA ILA

Established in 1975, the Institute for Legislative Action (ILA) is the "lobbying" arm of the National Rifle Association of America. ILA is responsible for preserving the right of all law-abiding individuals in the legislative, political, and legal arenas, to purchase, possess and use firearms for legitimate purposes as guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.