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.
Saturday, June 28, 2025
Overnight, the U.S. Senate added pro-gun tax relief language back into the Reconciliation bill after the Senate Parliamentarian struck ...
Friday, June 27, 2025
On behalf of millions of NRA members and gun owners, we stand united in calling on Congress to ...
Friday, June 27, 2025
Today, the U.S. Senate was forced to remove the pro-gun language that had been previously included in the ...
Monday, June 23, 2025
Governor Abbott recently signed five pro-gun bills, continuing to show his commitment to the Second Amendment. The NRA ...
Friday, June 6, 2025
Today, the National Rifle Association Institute for Legislative Action (NRA-ILA) filed a Petition for Certiorari requesting that the ...
Wednesday, June 4, 2025
Yesterday, the National Rifle Association, Firearms Policy Coalition, and FPC Action Foundation filed an amicus brief arguing that the federal ...
Thursday, May 29, 2025
This week, the Texas House and Senate passed several important pro-Second Amendment bills. These bills had previously passed ...
Thursday, May 22, 2025
Earlier today, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R.1 the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which included Section ...
Thursday, May 22, 2025
"This morning, the U.S. House of Representatives passed President Trump's One, Big, Beautiful Bill, which includes the complete ...
Monday, April 21, 2025
Last February, NRA-ILA’s reporting exposed the case of Taylor Taranto, a pardoned January 6 protestor separately arrested on firearm charges ...
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