National Firearms Act

The National Firearms Act (NFA) of 1934 is a United States law that was approved 26 Jun 1934. It imposed a tax on the making and transfer of firearms (as defined by NFA) and it imposed a special occupational tax on persons and/or entities engaged in the business of selling, importing, or manufacturing of firearms (as defined by NFA). It also required the registration of all firearms (as defined by NFA). These included long guns having barrels
shorter than 18 inches, certain firearms described as “any other weapon,” (AOW) machineguns, and silencers. 1

The 1968 US Supreme Court decision in Haynes v. United States made the NFA of 1934 unenforceable. In this case, the Court held that the registration requirement of the Act violated the United States Constitution’s Fifth Amendment protection against self-incrimination. What was happening is when a possessor of an NFA defined firearm registered with the Federal Government, the Feds could tell the State Government and the States could then prosecute the possessor of the NFA defined firearm for violating State law. Thus, in effect making them tell on themselves. 2

In order to ‘fix’ the NFA, on 22 Oct 1968, the Gun Control Act (GCA) of 1968 was approved.  The Title II amendment of the GCA removed the requirement for possessors of unregistered NFA firearms to register and added a provision prohibiting the use of any information from an NFA application/registration as evidence against the person in a criminal proceeding. In the 1971 US Supreme Court case United States v. Freed the Court held that the GCA cured the Constitutional defect in the NFA. 3

The GCA also amended the NFA definition of a firearm by adding destructive devices and expanding the definition of a machinegun. 4

On 19 May 1986, the approval of the Firearm Owners’ Protection Act (FOPA) amended the NFA definition of silencer by adding combinations of parts for silencers and any part intended for use in the assembly or fabrication of a silencer. The FOPA also amended the GCA to prohibit the transfer or possession of machineguns except by government agencies and those lawfully possessed prior to 19 May 1986. 5

related:

      • National Firearms Act (NFA) Special Occupational Tax (SOT)
      • National Firearms Act (NFA) Tax Stamp

footnotes/sources:

  1. National Firearms Act Handbook. ⇒ U.S. Dept. of Justice, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Office of Enforcement Programs and Services, 2009. p. 1.
  2. National Firearms Act Handbook. ⇒ U.S. Dept. of Justice, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Office of Enforcement Programs and Services, 2009. p. 1.
  3. National Firearms Act Handbook. ⇒ U.S. Dept. of Justice, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Office of Enforcement Programs and Services, 2009. p. 1.
  4. National Firearms Act Handbook. ⇒ U.S. Dept. of Justice, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Office of Enforcement Programs and Services, 2009. p. 2.
  5. National Firearms Act Handbook. ⇒ U.S. Dept. of Justice, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Office of Enforcement Programs and Services, 2009. p. 2.