Americans can once again purchase some of the most deadly firearms and accessories after relentless lobbying by the gun industry and Republican politicians forced a concession from the Trump administration during the federal government shutdown. Sales of silencers, short-barreled rifles, and vintage machine-guns produced before 1986 had ground to a halt after federal examiners responsible for regulating these items were furloughed.
The examiners, part of the National Firearms Act (NFA) division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), have now been reclassified as “essential” workers, allowing them to return to their desks. The weapons, commonly known as “gangster weapons”, have been regulated since 1934 due to their outsized risk to public safety, but have proliferated in recent years and are now among the bestsellers in the gun market.
The temporary block on sales provoked a fierce backlash from industry groups and members of Congress. Larry Keane, general counsel for the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), argued that “your second amendment rights are not suspended because of Congress’s inability to pass legislation”. On 16 October, the NSSF wrote to US Attorney General Pam Bondi, stating that “a right delayed is a right denied”, and called for the immediate resumption of sales. A day later, 30 Republican Congress members lobbied the acting director of the ATF, Daniel Driscoll, claiming the block infringed upon “Americans’ ability to protect themselves, their loved ones, and their property”.
The Trump administration bowed to the pressure, allowing examiners to return on Monday. The concession means sales can restart even while other critical public services remain ensnared by the shutdown, including the approval of new medical drugs, processing of small business loans, and oversight of the US nuclear stockpile. Josh Sugarmann, executive director of the Violence Policy Center, said: “While the shutdown has paralyzed the work of federal agencies that actually protect American lives, the Trump administration has deemed processing applications for firearms and accessories that threaten public safety an essential activity.”
The gun rights organisation Gun Owners of America hailed the decision as an “historic win for gun owners against years of ATF tyranny”. However, other elements of the gun industry continue to be affected, with applications for permits and licenses for international gun dealing and classification of new products still not being processed.
