F
Field Ethos
Guest
By Chad Adams
It wasn’t so very long ago that industry observers believed every aspect of the National Firearms Act to be all but set in stone. And with good reason. The ol’ tax stamp generated a metric shit ton of revenue for Uncle Sam each and every year. But somehow, someway, the heavens realigned, and now the Great Suppressor Boom of 2026 is upon us, completely tax free.
Now the Second Amendment Foundation and others have their sights set once again on the NFA. The SAF recently filed an amicus brief urging the Supreme Court to grant certiorari, or hear an appeal, in George Peterson v. United States, a case that challenges NFA registration and special taxation requirements for firearm suppressors.
And SAF brought some friends to the fight, joined in the filing by the National Rifle Association, American Suppressor Association, California Rifle & Pistol Association, Second Amendment Law Center, Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus, and the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms.
“Suppressors are clearly ‘arms’ protected by the plain text of the Second Amendment, and there is no historical tradition supporting the NFA’s burdensome per-arm registration and taxation scheme,” said SAF Director of Legal Research and Education Kostas Moros. “History shows that the Founding generation would never have tolerated requiring every individual firearm or component to be registered with the government. These requirements burden the right to keep and bear arms and have no basis in our nation’s tradition. We urge the Court to grant review and strike them down.”
This case provides opportunity to deliver that seminal moment, establishing once and for all, by legal doctrine, that cans are protected. It gives the highest court in the land the opportunity to set precedent and forever eliminate the legality of unconstitutional registration and taxation of legal weapons, formally acknowledging that protection under the Second Amendment.
As such, the brief illuminates such schemes as unconstitutional with no historical tradition or legal precedent. Better still, this case is one of many attempts, with several active cases across the country setting up challenges to the NFA.
“This case challenges the government’s ongoing efforts to financially burden and regulate the exercise of Second Amendment rights through the NFA,” said SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb. “SAF is committed to defending the right to keep and bear arms in all its forms, including the use of suppressors for safe and effective self-defense.”
It’s an early moment on the path to forever eliminate the NFA. But it’s an important step on that path of getting where we all want to go—complete and utter freedom for law-abiding citizens to own firearms and accessories without taxation or restriction.
Yes, we won a big round with the suspension of the $200 tax fee; however, restrictive legal hurdles remain. Ultimately, it’s time to put the NFA away for good. Forever moving cans out of the realm of the NFA would make for another big round on the scorecard.
For more information visit SAF.org.
The post Going for the Knockout: SAF Challenges NFA appeared first on Field Ethos.
Continue reading...
It wasn’t so very long ago that industry observers believed every aspect of the National Firearms Act to be all but set in stone. And with good reason. The ol’ tax stamp generated a metric shit ton of revenue for Uncle Sam each and every year. But somehow, someway, the heavens realigned, and now the Great Suppressor Boom of 2026 is upon us, completely tax free.
Now the Second Amendment Foundation and others have their sights set once again on the NFA. The SAF recently filed an amicus brief urging the Supreme Court to grant certiorari, or hear an appeal, in George Peterson v. United States, a case that challenges NFA registration and special taxation requirements for firearm suppressors.
And SAF brought some friends to the fight, joined in the filing by the National Rifle Association, American Suppressor Association, California Rifle & Pistol Association, Second Amendment Law Center, Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus, and the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms.
“Suppressors are clearly ‘arms’ protected by the plain text of the Second Amendment, and there is no historical tradition supporting the NFA’s burdensome per-arm registration and taxation scheme,” said SAF Director of Legal Research and Education Kostas Moros. “History shows that the Founding generation would never have tolerated requiring every individual firearm or component to be registered with the government. These requirements burden the right to keep and bear arms and have no basis in our nation’s tradition. We urge the Court to grant review and strike them down.”
Eliminating Suppressors From the NFA Forever
This case provides opportunity to deliver that seminal moment, establishing once and for all, by legal doctrine, that cans are protected. It gives the highest court in the land the opportunity to set precedent and forever eliminate the legality of unconstitutional registration and taxation of legal weapons, formally acknowledging that protection under the Second Amendment.
As such, the brief illuminates such schemes as unconstitutional with no historical tradition or legal precedent. Better still, this case is one of many attempts, with several active cases across the country setting up challenges to the NFA.
“This case challenges the government’s ongoing efforts to financially burden and regulate the exercise of Second Amendment rights through the NFA,” said SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb. “SAF is committed to defending the right to keep and bear arms in all its forms, including the use of suppressors for safe and effective self-defense.”
It’s an early moment on the path to forever eliminate the NFA. But it’s an important step on that path of getting where we all want to go—complete and utter freedom for law-abiding citizens to own firearms and accessories without taxation or restriction.
Yes, we won a big round with the suspension of the $200 tax fee; however, restrictive legal hurdles remain. Ultimately, it’s time to put the NFA away for good. Forever moving cans out of the realm of the NFA would make for another big round on the scorecard.
For more information visit SAF.org.
The post Going for the Knockout: SAF Challenges NFA appeared first on Field Ethos.
Continue reading...
