Texas Suppressor Manufacturers Say New State Law Failed to Sidestep National Firearms Act

The Texas legislature passed a bill last year meant to exempt Texas-made firearm suppressors from federal law. Nonetheless, the process for buying a suppressor in Texas remains the same, and suppressor manufacturers are doubtful that change will come anytime soon.

The National Firearms Act (NFA) is the primary federal law governing suppressors. Passed in 1934 in response to mob violence like the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre, it requires a months-long registration process and a $200 tax stamp to buy a suppressor. Licensed dealers also have to pay a special tax to sell NFA firearms and accessories.

House Bill (HB) 957 declares that gun suppressors made in Texas are not subject to this process. The law forbids state and local government authorities from enforcing federal regulations on these Texas-made suppressors and threatens to withhold funds from any government authority that does.

However, HB 957 begins with an important first step. A Texan citizen must tell Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in writing that he or she intends to manufacture a Texas-made suppressor free of federal regulation. Then, the attorney general “shall” seek a declaratory judgment from a federal district court that HB 957 complies with the U.S. Constitution.