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National Firearms Act (NFA)

The National Firearms Act of 1934 (NFA) requires the registration, with the federal government, of fully-automatic firearms (termed “machineguns”), rifles and shotguns that have an overall length under 26 inches, rifles with a barrel under 16 inches, shotguns with a barrel under 18 inches, and firearm sound suppressors (termed “silencers”). The Gun Control Act of 1968 (GCA) placed “destructive devices” (primarily explosives and the like, but also including firearms over .50 caliber, other than most shotguns) under the provisions of the NFA. In 1994, the Treasury Department placed revolving-cylinder shotguns and one semi-automatic shotgun under the NFA.

The GCA prohibited the importation of fully-automatic firearms for private purposes and a 1986 amendment to the Act prohibited the domestic manufacture of fully-automatics for private purposes. However, short-barreled rifles and shotguns have becoming increasingly popular for home defense and defensive-skills-based marksmanship training and competitions, and sound suppressors have become increasingly popular for marksmanship training and competitions, and for hunting.

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McClatchy D.C.  

Tuesday, September 5, 2017

Can Jeff Duncan silence opposition to his gun bill?

Growing up, Rep. Jeff Duncan didn’t wear earplugs or muffs when he went out to shoot guns with ...

Americans for Responsible Solutions Claims NFA Isn’t Burdensome

News  

Second Amendment  

Friday, September 1, 2017

Americans for Responsible Solutions Claims NFA Isn’t Burdensome

Earlier this week, gun control group Americans for Responsible Solutions continued their confused campaign against the Hearing Protection ...

Let Your Congress Members Know that You Support the Hearing Protection Act

News  

Friday, August 4, 2017

Let Your Congress Members Know that You Support the Hearing Protection Act

As we’ve previously covered a number of times, the Hearing Protection Act (HPA) is a federal bill to ...

Washington Examiner  

Tuesday, July 18, 2017

Medicine's shameful silence on silencers

What if a cheap, simple, and safe method existed for preventing permanent hearing loss in tens of millions ...

Pro-Gun Members of Congress Seek to Protect Veterans, Preserve Historically Significant Firearms

News  

Gun Laws  

Friday, June 30, 2017

Pro-Gun Members of Congress Seek to Protect Veterans, Preserve Historically Significant Firearms

U.S. Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR) and U.S. Representative David P. Roe (R-TN) this week introduced bills to create ...

Volokh Conspiracy  

Tuesday, June 20, 2017

The Hearing Protection Act and ‘silencers’

Congress is considering the “Hearing Protection Act,” which would change federal regulation of gun “silencers.” Here’s a guide ...

Politico  

Tuesday, June 13, 2017

House panel considers bill easing suppressor restrictions

A House committee will begin considering this week a highly controversial proposal making it easier to buy gun ...

Washington Examiner  

Tuesday, June 13, 2017

Ambush: WaPo snubbed NRA 'silencer shoot' before damning suppressors

In a bid to promote legislation to ease the purchase of gun suppressors, several gun groups have been ...

The Hill  

Thursday, June 8, 2017

Lawmaker invites colleagues to Capitol shooting range

Rep. Jeff Duncan has invited his colleagues to the Capitol Police shooting range in a Senate office building ...

Washington Post  

Tuesday, June 6, 2017

Not staying quiet on the public health benefit to firearm suppressors

The May 30 editorial “The sound of silencers” ignored the real public-health benefits of firearm suppressors and instead ...

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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.