ASA’s Campaign to Untether State Law from the NFA
Winning in federal court has created a problem at the state level. That sentence would have sounded strange a year ago, but it is where the industry now finds itself. When the permanent injunction took effect on August 13, 2026 and the National Firearms Act’s registration and approval requirements for suppressors became unenforceable, the celebration was well earned. It was also incomplete. In fifteen states, the path to legal ownership of a suppressor is predicated on a state requirement that it be registered with the federal government. This has led to a three-tiered ownership structure depending on the state – those that ban possession outright, those that align with federal law, and those in the middle that reference a federal law that has been ruled unconstitutional by the courts.
The reason is structural, not political. Those states wrote their statutes on the assumption that the NFA would be a permanent fixture. Some classify a suppressor as contraband and then carve out an exception for a device registered under the NFA. Others make federal compliance an affirmative defense to a felony charge. Ohio, for example, still lists a suppressor as “dangerous ordnance” alongside destructive devices, and relies on federal registration to exempt ordinary civilian ownership. The mechanics differ from state to state, but the outcome is identical: continuing to abide by the federal registration scheme is the only path to legal ownership and possession.
This is creating a patchwork of laws across the country leading to confusion for dealers and consumers.
ASA did not wait to start this work until the court ruling made it necessary. We started it in 2025, while we were still pushing the $0 transfer tax through as part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. The strategic logic was straightforward: removing the tax was the goal, but removing the tax also removed the NFA’s only constitutional footing, and that made litigation not just possible but likely. If the courts eventually knocked out registration — which is exactly what happened — every state statute keyed to that registration would become a trap. We began mapping those statutes before the ink was dry on OBBB.
That head start is why two states came off the list before the injunction ever took effect, instead of scrambling after it.
South Dakota moved first. Senate Bill 2 removed suppressors from the state’s “controlled weapon” definition and struck the statutory requirement that possession be tied to a federal stamp. It passed both chambers unanimously and was signed by Governor Larry Rhoden on February 10, 2026. Our allies at the NRA carried the heaviest load in Pierre while ASA advised on statutory language and on how the fix needed to be drafted to survive any future federal outcome.
Kansas followed. Working with the Kansas State Rifle Association, ASA supported House Bill 2501, which removed suppressors and short-barreled firearms from the state’s controlled weapons list. The bill cleared the Senate 37–3, was signed by Governor Laura Kelly in April 2026, and took effect July 1. Kansas is worth studying closely for two reasons. First, it drew organized opposition from state law enforcement associations that wanted to preserve sentencing enhancements, and the coalition negotiated through that rather than around it. Second, it was signed by a Democratic governor. This is not a red-state-only fix, and framing it as one can cost votes.
Both bills share the same architecture: sever the state statute’s dependence on federal registration entirely, rather than patching it to match whatever the current federal posture happens to be. That is the template ASA is carrying into the remaining states.
No single organization can shoulder the entire burden. ASA has been working closely with our partners at the NRA and the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation to divide the field, identify which organization carries the best support in each state, and — just as importantly — keep the bill language consistent from state to state. CSF’s legislative sportsmen’s caucuses give the effort a bipartisan front door in capitals where a firearms bill would otherwise start behind. The NRA brings grassroots pressure and state-level lobbying reach. ASA brings the technical and statutory expertise on suppressors specifically, which matters more than it sounds like it should when a legislator starts getting granular about suppressors. ASA has honed our expertise over the past 15 years working in statehouses where we successfully legalized suppressor ownership in three states and legalized hunting with suppressors in 19 states. We are also working with the Republican Attorneys General Association (RAGA) to seek clarity on the law in many of the affected states.
Senate Bill 214 would remove firearm mufflers and suppressors from Ohio’s dangerous ordnance classification and strike the language tying possession to NFA registration. It passed the Ohio Senate 31–1 on March 25, 2026 with bipartisan support and no opposition testimony in committee. It has since been through hearings in the House Public Safety Committee and awaits a floor vote.
ASA has held direct meetings with Ohio House leadership to move the bill, and we anticipate passage this year. Our partner on the ground is the Buckeye Firearms Association (BFA), which testified in support of SB 214 and is also a co-plaintiff in Roberts v. ATF, our federal NFA challenge in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky, where the ASA Foundation is the plaintiff of record. The legislation and litigation tracks are running in parallel by design, and BFA is standing with ASA on both.
ASA has been actively engaged in three more states this cycle. ASA worked with NRA, CSF and in-state groups on Alaska’s SB 243 in Juneau. It remains pending but will likely need to be reintroduced in 2027. ASA and in-state partners also testified in support of bills in Mississippi and Georgia in 2026. Both have statutes that key the civilian exception directly to NFA registration. We will be back at it to line up vehicles in those states for the 2027 session.
Several of the fifteen simply had no legislature to lobby in 2026. Montana and North Dakota meet in odd-numbered years, which means the earliest legislative fix available in either is early 2027. ASA has already begun building those campaigns so that bills are drafted, sponsored, and scheduled before the gavel falls.
In the meantime, we are working through RAGA with the attorneys general in those states to identify options for relief ahead of legislative action. A favorable AG opinion or a formal non-enforcement posture will not fix the statute, but it can keep lawful owners and the dealers who serve them out of limbo until a fix is enacted.
ASA is evaluating all fifteen states individually, and we are candid internally about the fact that they will not all look like South Dakota. Several sit in legislatures where any bill carrying the word “suppressor” will draw immediate and organized opposition regardless of how technical the fix is. In those states, the right move may be a narrow conforming amendment attached to an unrelated code cleanup, an AG opinion, or litigation. Not a standalone suppressor bill that hands the other side a fundraising opportunity and dies in committee.
Choosing wrong is expensive. A bill that fails publicly the first year can be even harder to pass the next year. It is imperative that we do it right, and that doesn't always mean first or fast.
Three practical points for distributors and their dealer networks. First, the court ruling affects transactions at the retail level: dealer to consumer. It did not eliminate the SOT or transfer requirements for those "engaged in the business" of dealing in NFA firearms. For most of you, that means business as usual. Second, it did not preempt state law, and no state on the list can be fixed by the injunction. Compliance guidance written for the post-injunction environment has to be state-specific or it is wrong somewhere. As of the time of writing, ATF has been mum on any guidance. ASA, through our attorneys have requested guidance, as have others. Third, these fifteen states represent a meaningful block of existing suppressor demand — Georgia, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin are not marginal markets. While the NFA transfer process is still available to buyers in these states, it is not allowing for the upswing in suppressor sales seen elsewhere. Every state ASA can convert, changes a market that is currently answering “it depends” into one that is not.
Two states down. Ohio in reach. Fourteen more after that — and an ASA-led coalition already at work in every one of them.