--- title: "American Suppressor Association: 15 Years. Countless Victories." description: Learn how the American Suppressor Association is advancing suppressor rights, achieving legislative victories, and supporting firearm owners nationwide. image: https://nasgw.org/hubfs/Partner%20Logos/asa-logo-1.png --- [Go Back Up](https://nasgw.org/news/american-suppressor-association-countless-victories#top) [Skip to Content](https://nasgw.org/news/american-suppressor-association-countless-victories#body) [![nasgw-logo](https://nasgw.org/hubfs/nasgw-logo.svg "nasgw-logo")](https://nasgw.org/) Toggle Menu - Solutions Toggle children for Solutions Main Menu (Press to Return) \> Solutions - [Distribution Is The Solution](https://nasgw.org/distribution-is-the-solution) - [VAULT](https://itsonvault.com) - [Get SCOPE™](https://nasgwscope.org/) - [NASGW EXPO](https://nasgwexpo.org/) - [Fortify Insurance](https://www.choosefortify.com/) - [Bill Tracker](http://members.nasgw.org/bill-tracker) - Membership Toggle children for Membership Main Menu (Press to Return) \> Membership - [Join NASGW](https://nasgw.org/join-nasgw) - [New Member Info](https://nasgw.org/new-member-info) - [NASGW Directory](https://members.nasgw.org/membership/directory) - News / Media Toggle children for News / Media Main Menu (Press to Return) \> News / Media - [News](https://nasgw.org/news) - [Insight](https://nasgw.org/insight-newsletter) - [Webinars](https://nasgw.org/nasgw-webinars) - About Toggle children for About Main Menu (Press to Return) \> About - [Our Association](https://nasgw.org/about-nasgw) - [Board of Directors](https://nasgw.org/board-of-directors) - [FAQ's](https://nasgw.org/nasgw-faqs) - Industry Toggle children for Industry Main Menu (Press to Return) \> Industry - [Our Involvement](https://nasgw.org/industry) - [Partner Organizations](https://nasgw.org/partner-organizations) - [Affiliate Partners](https://nasgw.org/affiliate-partners) - [Join Now](https://nasgw.org/join-nasgw) - [Member Login](https://nasgw.memberclicks.net/login#/login) # American Suppressor Association: 15 Years. Countless Victories. [Recent News](https://nasgw.org/news/tag/recent-news) [Industry Partners](https://nasgw.org/news/tag/industry-partners) 9/29/26, 9:31 AM [American Suppressor Association](https://nasgw.org/news/author/american-suppressor-association) 6 min read [mailto:?subject=American%20Suppressor%20Association%3A%2015%20Years.%20Countless%20Victories.&body=https%3A%2F%2Fnasgw.org%2Fnews%2Famerican-suppressor-association-countless-victories](mailto:?subject=American%20Suppressor%20Association%3A%2015%20Years.%20Countless%20Victories.&body=https%3A%2F%2Fnasgw.org%2Fnews%2Famerican-suppressor-association-countless-victories) *Nineteen states opened to suppressor hunting, three to ownership. Suppressor numbers grew more than twentyfold thanks to focused efforts by ASA.* Fifteen years ago, in early September 2011, the American Suppressor Association was founded with a single mission: to fight for pro-suppressor reform nationwide. Why? Because, at the time, no one else was doing it. Looking back to 2011, the suppressor market was much different. Suppressors were legal to own in 39 states, legal to hunt with in 22, and they were not represented in the halls of state and federal government by anyone. The voice of the suppressor industry, and consumers, wasn't being amplified. Since the 1934 enactment of the National Firearms Act, just about 285,000 suppressors were in circulation across the entire United States. A number hardly worth noticing. As of August 2026, ATF reports 6,654,209 suppressors registered. Ownership is legal in 42 states and suppressed hunting in 41. The growth in the popularity and availability of suppressors weren't mere market forces. It was hard fought, one legislative victory at a time, and it's worth taking a look back to see just how far we've come in 15 short years. ## **The "No State Left Behind" campaign** The biggest gains in the suppressor market began at the state level. Since 2011, ASA’s legislative record includes: - Active lobbying in 35 states and territories - Legalized suppressor ownership in Iowa, Minnesota, Vermont, and Guam - Legalized suppressor hunting in 19 states, among them Texas, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, Ohio, Montana, Arizona, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Kansas, Indiana, Maine and North Carolina - Defeated ban attempts in multiple states before they reached a floor vote The hunting bills are the ones that normalized suppressor ownership. A suppressor someone cannot carry afield is a range accessory, and all too often they were only associated with the tactical crowd. Every year, suppressors became more common in the field, and firearm manufacturers responded, with more and more factory-threaded barrel options. In every state, ASA was putting in the behind-the-scenes work: using industry expertise to draft model language before sessions opened, testifying in countless committee hearings, often to members that had never handled a suppressor, live demonstrations for legislators and their staff, sometimes returning to a state for multiple years before a bill finally passed and was signed into law. Fifteen consecutive legislative cycles where ASA continued to show up to advance suppressor reform and change the map. None of it was done alone. Our allies at the NRA supplied grassroots reach in statehouses when ASA needed it. The Congressional Sportsmen's Foundation (CSF) brought bipartisan support from sportsmen and sportswomen around the country. NSSF brought the industry’s economic case to committee. Coalitions won these bills. As subject matter experts on suppressors, ASA led the fight on every one. Eight states still prohibit ownership outright, and the remaining hunting restrictions sit largely in the same places. Those are the hardest fights left on the board, and they move slowly: bills introduced in unfriendly chambers frequently die without a hearing and require reintroduction the following session. Winning in these states will likely be done through the courts – another place where ASA is leading the fight for suppressor reform. ## **Hearing protection, argued for fifteen years** The message has remained the same since 2011: a suppressor is a hearing protection device. It reduces the damaging sound of a gunshot to a safer level. ASA has made that case in state capitols and Washington, DC for fifteen years. That framing carried into our recent participation in a [House Oversight roundtable](https://oversight.house.gov/roundtable/suppressing-the-second-amendment-examining-dojs-posture-toward-firearm-suppressors/) on federal suppressor policy. ASA President and Executive Director Knox Williams, as one of three invited to testify, told members that suppressors are “hearing protection devices, plain and simple,” and noted they are legally owned in 42 states. A retired ATF deputy assistant director said that across 35 years of service he encountered suppressors in two cases, both narcotics investigations. Fifteen years ago, the topic of suppressors wasn't even on Congress' radar. The data that made it possible did not exist in usable form, and neither did an organization dedicated to putting it in front of Congress. ## **Shortening the wait** While advancing state-level reform, ASA also tackled suppressor ownership on an administrative front, and for suppressor retailers it may have mattered as much as any statute. In 2011, a Form 4 approval was commonly measured in many months, long enough that a meaningful share of interested customers simply never started the paperwork. Reducing (and ultimately eliminating) those wait times has been part of ASA’s strategy from the beginning. Electronic filing, and process efficiencies, eventually brought approvals down to days. This one change nearly doubled the industry overnight – an administrative change that ASA was directly involved in. ### **2026: ASA's 15th Anniversary and most consequential year** Three changes in 2026 mark the most important year for ASA thus far: - The $200 transfer tax went to zero on January 1, 2026, thanks to the ASA-led coalition's efforts on the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. - A federal court in Texas held the NFA’s registration scheme unconstitutional as applied to suppressors, and that injunction took effect in August. The ATF addressed the ruling publicly in late August and, as of this writing, has indicated that formal written guidance is forthcoming. - Effective November 20, 2026, most suppressors move from the U.S. Munitions List to Commerce Department jurisdiction — a reform ASA has pursued for more than a decade. An entire category of sporting arms that was administratively walled off from established international markets now has a normal path into them for US-based manufacturers, distributors, and dealers. ## **What fifteen years produced** The National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record (NFRTR) – the official record maintained by the ATF – tells the story: - Approximately 285,000 suppressors in circulation in 2011 - The registry crossed one million five years later in 2016. - More suppressors were registered between 2021 and 2024 than in the NFA's first 87 years combined. - 6,654,209 registered as of August 4, 2026, an increase of nearly 900,000 since January alone That is a twenty-threefold increase in fifteen years. At the pace set this year, the registry will cross seven million before December. ## **What is next for ASA** Fifteen years ago, suppressors still weren't on most people's radar. ASA's work changed that. For manufacturers, it turned a niche category into an established industry. For distributors and dealers, it turned an unknown product that cluttered shelf space into one with a national footprint. For the individual owner, it turned a suppressor from something that required a months-long financial commitment before delivery into something he can buy, take home, and carry afield often inside of a week. Every one of those gains was legislated or litigated by an organization formed solely for this purpose. In the courts, ASA and the ASA Foundation are backing four active cases: two challenges to outright prohibition on suppressor ownership in Illinois and New Jersey; and two more cases still challenging the NFA's registration requirements now that the tax has been zeroed out. Different courts, different postures, one destination. The question these cases put before the judiciary is whether suppressors are protected arms under the Second Amendment. A favorable ruling from the Supreme Court settling that question would do more for this industry than any statute ever has, and it would end the state-by-state patchwork this industry has dealt with since before the NFA was enacted. While these cases run their course in the judicial system, ASA returns to the work it cut its teeth on – tackling the many state statutes that reference the NFA registration framework as a condition of possession. As that framework is tested in federal court, those statutes need updating, or consumers in otherwise friendly states will find themselves caught between a federal ruling and a state code that never contemplated suppressors outside the scope of the NFA. That is a wide swath of statutory cleanup across a great many legislatures, and it is precisely the work ASA was built to do. Fifteen years in, we are not finished. Since 2011, ASA has been the industry’s dedicated voice on suppressor policy — holding a seat at the table in statehouses, before Congress, and with regulatory agencies. As the famous quote goes, "if you don't have a seat at the table, you're probably on the menu." ASA has spent the past 15 years advocating for the interests of manufacturers, distributors, dealers, and consumers alike. We intend to keep our focus on the legislative and legal battles for the next fifteen years so the rest of the industry can focus on what it does best. ## American Suppressor Association You May Like These ## Related Articles ![](https://nasgw.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Partner%20Logos/asa-logo-1.png?width=700&name=asa-logo-1.png) ### [Fifteen States Still Require Federal Registration as a Prerequisite to Suppressor Ownership](https://nasgw.org/news/federal-registration-suppressor-ownership) ![](https://nasgw.org/hs-fs/hubfs/orchid.png?width=700&name=orchid.png) ### [Distribution Restricted with Passage of Legislation Aimed at Magazines, Triggers, Bump Stocks, and More](https://nasgw.org/news/firearm-sales-restricted-with-passage-of-personal-use-legislation-0) ![](https://nasgw.org/hs-fs/hubfs/orchid.png?width=700&name=orchid.png) ### [Guidance on FFL Disaster Preparedness](https://nasgw.org/news/guidance-on-ffl-disaster-preparedness) [![nasgw-webinar-1](https://nasgw.org/hs-fs/hubfs/nasgw-webinar-1.jpg?width=300&height=131&name=nasgw-webinar-1.jpg "nasgw-webinar-1")](https://nasgw.org) [Join Now](https://nasgw.org/distribution-is-the-solution) ©© 2024 National Association of Sporting Goods Wholesalers All Rights Reserved.  [Privacy Policy](https://nasgw.org/privacy-policy)  101 S. 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