What stripped-down 'Big Beautiful Bill' means to gun owners nationally, in Ohio

For a brief moment, it seemed as though Congress was poised to deliver a landmark victory for America's gun owners. First, the House included the Hearing Protection Act in H.R.1, the reconciliation bill also known as One Big Beautiful Bill, but left out the SHORT Act. That meant suppressors were eliminated from the definition of the National Firearms Act of 1934.

Then a Senate committee restored the SHORT Act, eliminating short-barreled rifles and short-barreled shotguns from the NFA, as well. That would have made both suppressors and short-barreled rifles and shotguns no more onerous to purchase than ordinary firearms. No $200 tax. No fingerprinting. No registration.

Then along came a Senate parliamentarian named Elizabeth MacDonough, a Democrat appointed during the Harry Reid era, who on July 3 stripped both pro-gun measures from the bill, claiming they exceeded the provisions of the Byrd rule, which governs reconciliation measures, because they weren't directly tax related. All that remained was a reduction of the "tax stamp" from $200 to $0.

What does this all mean for gun owners at the national and state level?

National level

The good news is that the $200 tax stamp on suppressors and short-barreled long guns will be reduced to zero starting Jan. 1, 2026. The bad news is that they will still be subject to the NFA.

But there could be more good news. MacDonough's actions stripping both the HPA and SHORT Act from the bill have resulted in a lawsuit by Second Amendment Foundation, National Rifle Association, American Suppressor Association, and Firearms Policy Coalition, challenging the remaining registration requirements for the affected arms under the NFA as unconstitutional.

Per SAF executive director Adam Kraut on July 3:

“The NFA is nothing more than a tax scheme which has imposed an unconstitutional burden on Americans since 1934. The registration of these items was only justified as the means to ensure taxes on them had been paid. With the One Big, Beautiful Bill zeroing out the tax for silencers and short barreled firearms, the registration scheme serves no other purpose than to create an unlawful barrier to keep people from exercising their Second Amendment rights. Our intention with this new lawsuit is to completely remove these barriers.”

Such legal action is a long game that is likely to take several months, if not years, to make its way through the courts.

In theory, the HPA (H.R.404) and the SHORT ACT (H.R.2395) could move forward as standalone bills, but don't count on it.

Ohio bills on hiatus

Ohio House Bill 331 and Ohio Senate Bill 214 had proposed revisions to the Ohio Revised Code in anticipation of the federal bills passing. These would have eliminated suppressors from the definition of dangerous ordnance and removed language that mandates suppressor registration under the NFA.

Both bills, titled "Remove firearm mufflers, suppressors as dangerous ordnance," are in the Ohio General Assembly but, as legislation, are likely moot.

HB 331 was sponsored by Reps. Kellie Deeter (R-Norwalk) and Tex Fischer (R-Boardman). SB 214 was introduced by Sen. Kyle Koehler (R-Springfield).

BFA executive director Dean Rieck said he is disappointed that suppressors and short-barreled long guns weren't entirely eliminated from the NFA, but he remains hopeful that gun owners and Second Amendment supporters will prevail eventually.

"We still view this as a victory, though only a partial one," Rieck said. "Some progress is better than no progress. But we are resolved to continue working on these issues at the federal and state level. It took a quarter century to get to where we are now in Ohio. And all of it was relentless and incremental."

We'll continue to monitor both the legal and legislative processes on this important issue and will keep you updated as it evolves.