Constitutional Hearing Protection Act

This bill would change how firearm silencers are treated under federal law. It would remove silencers from the National Firearms Act’s definition of “firearms,” and treat people who follow the usual federal gun rules as meeting any registration or licensing requirements for silencers. The change would start 90 days after the bill becomes law .

It would also limit certain state rules. States could not add special taxes (other than regular sales or use taxes) or require extra marking, recordkeeping, or registration for silencers that are in or affect interstate or foreign commerce. The Attorney General would have to destroy federal records of silencer registrations and related applications within one year. The bill would define “firearm silencer” and “firearm muffler,” create a “keystone part” marking rule for serial numbers, and add silencers to federal dealer sales rules. If a silencer has no clear single keystone part, the maker could get a marking variance unless there is good cause to deny it. The bill also says these items would not be moved under the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

Key points

• Who is affected: gun owners and buyers; gun dealers, manufacturers, and importers; state and local governments .
• What changes: silencers removed from the NFA; compliance under regular federal gun rules counts; limits on state-only taxes and extra record rules; federal records destroyed; new definitions and marking rules; dealer sales rules updated to include silencers; no shift to the Consumer Product Safety Commission .
• When: main change starts 90 days after enactment; record destruction within 365 days.