Damn it Bobby!

Earlier in the year, many 2nd amendment supporters were ecstatic about the HPA (Hearing Protection Act), which removed suppressors from the NFA (National Firearms Act). Under the NFA any firearms or accessories regulated by the NFA have to be registered, approved, and paid tax on. The process for purchasing and registering NFA items is very lengthy and repulsive to most gun owners and 2nd amendment advocates. The waiting time and background checks for NFA items used to be horrendous, some people didn’t get word back until 8 months after they submitted paperwork, recently because of Trump’s appointments inside the ATF (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives) have been able to cut wait times down to 4 months for many people. The process still hasn’t changed at all though.

Many things are regulated under the NFA, such examples are Short barreled rifles/shotguns (sporting rifles/shotguns with barrel lengths under 16 inches). Another example is “Machine Guns”, which are any firearm capable of sustained automatic fire, meaning you hold down the trigger and it keeps cycling bullets and firing them. Machine guns can be selective fire (as is the case with the M16) and just automatic fire (as is the case with many open bolt sub-machine guns). Suppressors are also regulated by the NFA. Machine guns and suppressors cost an inordinate amount of money because of the NFA. The NFA has artificially inflated the prices of many of the items regulated by it.

Many 2A gun owners like to use suppressors because they cut down on noise pollution, and bring the decibel level of a firearm to a comfortable level. While suppressing the noise level of a gun, it doesn’t eliminate the noise of the gun, and it is certainly loud even with a suppressor on a gun. Many people who own suppressors choose to use them over using ear protection because it brings the noise level to a comfortable level that won’t damage people’s ears. Suppressors are regarded as the most useful tool for hunting purposes and shooting purposes and many people invest into them. People also like to call them “Cans” for short. Unfortunately cans can cost a lot of money because they are NFA items, even though they are not a complicated firearm part to manufacture.

The HPA was integrated into a larger bill, The SHUSH Act, and now the SHUSH is part of an even larger bill, the SHARE Act. The SHARE Act (Sportsmen’s Heritage and Recreational Enhancement Act) removes a lot of anti-gun regulations that exist currently. Including taking suppressors of the NFA it also does other things.

I will share the provisions of the SHARE Act which I think are the most interesting, it’s a very large bill and has a lot of things in it, so I will try and make this article short and concise.

Title 11 of the SHARE Act: Protects people who are transporting unloaded firearms across state lines.

Currently there is a huge problem where firearms owners can be fined or sent to jail for passing through a state that has strict laws against firearms, such is the case in Illinois and New York. Many people that keep a CCW in their car that are on the way to another state have to pass through these anti-gun states, the Law Enforcement in these states have a habit of pulling over people and smacking them with unjustified fines for having a firearm in their car even though they were just passing through the state.

Title 15 of the SHARE Act: Hearing Protection Act

Section 1503 of the SHARE Act makes it so any person in possession of a silencer shall be considered as meeting the requirements of the National Firearms Act, meaning there is no need to register or pay tax. Silencers will now be treated as a regular firearm, even though they are a part and not an actual firearm. So you still need to go through a background check and fill out a form 4473 at an FFL (Federal Firearms License-holder) that is selling you the silencer.

Section 1504 of the SHARE Act makes it so States and Local jurisdictions cannot impose a tax on the transferring, using, possessing, or transporting of a firearm. They also cannot require a record keeping or registry of silencers.

Section 1505 of the SHARE Act makes it so 365 days after the enactment of the SHARE Act, all records of silencer registry shall be destroyed.

Section 1506 and 1507 is something that I don’t entirely understand, so if you want to read them just check the link at the bottom of the article. They have to do with Taxes on silencer sales and the regulation of “keystone” parts of a silencer.

Title 16 of the SHARE Act: Lawful Purpose and Self-Defense

Section 1602 removes the authority from gov’t agencies or entities to classify ammunition types as “armor piercing”.

This is important because a while back the ATF under the Obama administration tried re-classifying “green tip” ammo, also known as M855, to armor piercing ammo, which would completely restrict the citizenry from purchasing and owning that ammo. The problem gained a huge amount of controversy because many gun owners buy and use M855 ammo in their sporting rifles, it’s one of the most commonly sold ammo types in the United States. Most M855 ammo, is also known as “steel tip” because it has a steel tip, which has better penetration at longer ranges than a regular jacketed bullet, but it still isn’t considered armor piercing because it doesn’t punch through armor in the same way that “black tip” ammo does. Black tip ammo has a hardened steel tip much better at punching through armor than green ammo does. Black tip isn’t used nearly as much in shooting as green ammo is. Green ammo being one of the most popular rounds for shooting sports is used by most gun owners when they go to the range or shoot at some steel targets.

Section 1603 eliminates the restrictions present on importation of ammunition that can be lawfully possessed by American citizens.

Many ammo types that Americans can be in possession of, are illegal to import, meaning the only ammo of those types that citizens can legally buy is ammo that is made in the United States. This is a great part of the bill because eliminating these restrictions would get rid of artificial inflation of ammo prices. Meaning ammo of certain kinds would become cheaper, meaning people can go out shooting more! Yay!

Section 1604 protects shotguns, shotgun shells, and other large caliber rifles from classification as Destructive Devices.

Destructive Devices is one of many classifications of weapons under the NFA, these weapons are deemed destructive devices because they can be interpreted as having the potential to be “destructive”.

The ATF has had a history of classifying certain shotguns, shotgun ammunition, and other large caliber rifles as destructive devices which prevents most of the American citizenry from the opportunity to purchase them, if you want to get these items, you have to go through a humongous pile of bureaucratic dung.