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The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives — the ATF — has announced that it would stop enforcing requirements to register and pay tax on gun suppressors, often called silencers, and other items.
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Last week, Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador celebrated that announcement, which followed a victory in a lawsuit Idaho and 14 other states filed against the bureau.
“For more than 90 years, the federal government made law-abiding citizens ask permission, pay a tax, and wait months to exercise their constitutional rights,” Labrador said in the statement. “Idaho sued, Idaho won, and the ATF’s guidance means that victory now belongs to every gun owner in our state.”
Previously, people seeking to buy silencers, short-barreled rifles and short-barreled shotguns had to pay a $200 tax on those items to the ATF. They also had to submit fingerprints and a photo, and undergo a background check.
But in 2025, Congress eliminated that tax — and in early August, a federal judge in Texas ruled that without it, those other measures for extra vetting were unconstitutional, the Idaho Statesman reported at the time. He issued an injunction to block them.
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Previously, the injunction applied only to the specific plaintiffs in the lawsuit, including specific organizations, gun stores and state agencies. The new ATF guidance, Labrador wrote Monday, extends the change to gun owners nationwide.
“If this plays out the way gun owners hope, it could be the biggest Second Amendment victory in nearly 100 years,” Greg Pruett, president of the Idaho Second Amendment Alliance, wrote at the time. On Monday, he told the Statesman the decision was “a giant step forward in removing an infringement from decades ago.”
The ATF could still reverse its guidance, Labrador wrote. In September, he and other attorneys general urged Congress to permanently repeal the ATF requirements — but in the meantime, he urged Idaho gun dealers and owners to read the ATF’s frequently asked questions page.
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