Pro-gun rights

WASHINGTON, D.C. (June 11, 2025) – Today, Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC) urged the U.S. Senate to hold the line and pass President Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” with the legislation’s current suppressor reforms intact.

GOA Rallies Media Allies and Influencers to Demand Senate Action on Suppressor and SBR Reform 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

June 10, 2025 

Washington, D.C. — Gun Owners of America (GOA), joined by over 40 prominent media voices, influencers, and Second Amendment organizations representing a combined audience of more than one billion monthly viewers, has sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader John Thune and Senate Finance Committee Chairman Mike Crapo demanding immediate pro-gun action in the upcoming reconciliation package. 

The coalition is urging the Senate to adopt two key reforms: 

1. Section 3 of the Hearing Protection Act, which ensures that gun owners in anti-gun states are protected when purchasing suppressors in accordance with federal law. 

1. The Stop Harassing Owners of Rifles Today (SHORT) Act, which would eliminate the unconstitutional National Firearms Act (NFA) tax and registry requirements for short-barreled rifles and shotguns. 

While the House’s inclusion of Section 2 of the Hearing Protection Act was a positive step, omitting Section 3 would continue to leave millions of gun owners vulnerable to criminal prosecution in states that defy federal preemption. The inclusion of the SHORT Act would likewise deal a final blow to the ATF’s war on pistol braces and restore constitutional protections for popular firearms targeted by the NFA’s arbitrary barrel length rules. 

Erich Pratt, Senior Vice President of Gun Owners of America, issued the following statement: 

“The House opened the door—now the Senate must walk through it. The inclusion of Section 3 of the Hearing Protection Act and the full SHORT Act is essential to restoring the rights of law-abiding Americans and rolling back unconstitutional mandates that the ATF has used for decades to harass gun owners. The time to act is now.” 

Aidan Johnston, Director of Federal Affairs for Gun Owners of America, issued the following statement: 

“This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to dismantle the worst parts of the NFA and protect millions of gun owners from outdated, abusive laws. GOA is proud to lead this coalition, and we’re calling on Senate Republicans to finish the job and deliver for the grassroots.” 

GOA spokesmen are available for interviews. Gun Owners of America is a nonprofit grassroots lobbying organization dedicated to protecting the right to keep and bear arms without compromise. GOA represents over two million members and activists. For more information, visit GOA’s Press Center. 

-GOA- 

The resurrected “Assault Weapons” ban we alerted you to last week has unfortunately passed the House and is on its way to the Senate.

We’d like to reiterate that this fight isn’t over yet, and we can’t lay off even for a moment if we expect to hold the line on keeping semi-automatic firearms legal in Rhode Island.

This bill includes much more than just firearm bans. To directly quote House Minority Leader Chippendale’s press release from June 3rd:

“The bill also places an unfunded mandate on local police departments, requiring them to implement a so-called “voluntary certification” program. But let’s be honest – there is nothing voluntary about it. If a citizen is found in possession of a “grandfathered” firearm without this certificate, they will be subject to criminal penalties. That’s not voluntary – that’s coerced compliance.”

It was also brought to our attention through House Minority Leader Chippendale’s testimony, that H 5436 would devastate the sporting clay industry in Rhode Island, as it includes bans on all semi-automatic shotguns with threaded chokes.

Stopping H 5436 will be an immense effort, and we need you to continue hitting the phonelines to DEMAND your legislators stop it from passing.

When speaking to a Senator or their staff, you can say something like this:

“Hello, my name is [NAME] and I’m from [TOWN/CITY]. I’m a member of Gun Owners of America and a Rhode Island voter and I encourage you to vote NO on H 5436 when it comes up for a vote. Gun Owners of America will keep me informed of how you vote.”

This bill may be called up in the Senate Judiciary Committee before it heads to the floor. The list of committee members can be seen here:

​Senator Matthew L. LaMountain – (401) 206-0822

Senator Mark ​McKenney – (401) 578-6258

Senator Jacob E. Bissaillon – (401) 442-6973

Senator John P. Burke – (401) 374-4721

Senator Andrew R. Dimitri – (401) 276-5563

Senator Dawn Euer – (401) 276-5561

Senator Thomas J. Paolino – (401) 222-2708

Senator Todd M. Patalano – (401) 276-5592

Senator Ana B. Quezada – (401) 255-0345

Senator Leonidas P. Raptakis – (401) 276-5567

You can find your State Senator by using this tool from the Rhode Island Department of State: Find my legislator. If you already know who your legislator is, you can use the Senate directory found here: State Senate of Rhode Island.

Reach out to your Senators immediately using the form above and demand that they STOP H 5436!

WASHINGTON, D.C. (June 10, 2025) — Today, Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC) hailed the Supreme Court’s unanimous decision in Smith & Wesson, Inc., et al. v. Estados Unidos Mexicanos, which applied the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA) against the Mexican government’s frivolous lawsuit against gun manufacturers including Smith & Wesson, Barrett Firearms Manufacturing, Beretta U.S.A., Glock, Sturm, Ruger & Company, Interstate Arms, Century International Arms, and Colt’s Manufacturing Company. You can read FPC’s brief in support of review here, merits-stage brief here, and the Supreme Court’s opinion here.

CHICAGO (June 9, 2025) – Today, Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC) asked the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals to uphold its critical victory over the Illinois “Protect Illinois Communities Act” (PICA) gun control regulations, which bans so-called “assault weapons” and “large capacity” magazines. FPC’s brief says that the “question presented by this case is whether the Second Amendment allows Illinois to ban the best-selling rifle in America and its standard magazine. The answer,” FPC argues, “is no.”

One thing in life is certain: When a member of Congress sees a phone call come through from a GOA member, they panic.

After the House of Representatives got a nonstop earful from gun owners like you, we scored a major win. Just take a look at what Braden Langley had to say about our victory.

The GOA-backed Hearing Protection Act was added to President Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” (H.R. 1).

That means:

• No more $200 tax stamps
• No more government registration
• No more databases tracking law-abiding gun owners

But we’re not stopping there.

Your God-given right to keep and bear arms is not a “privilege” – and when Congress finally does one thing right, it’s not some grand favor to gun owners. It’s exactly what the Constitution requires that they do!

That’s why GOA is launching another grassroots advocacy campaign to further gut the NFA by forcing the Senate to add the SHORT Act to the reconciliation bill.

The SHORT Act – Stop Harassing Owners of Rifles Today – would remove short-barreled rifles (SBRs), short-barreled shotguns (SBSs), and Any Other Weapons (AOWs) from the NFA.

I’ll tell you why that’s so important…

Joe Biden’s ATF already reclassified pistol braces as SBRs, which was a backdoor attempt to force millions of lawful gun owners into NFA registration or risk becoming felons overnight.

I’m sure you can imagine a future President Gavin Newsom taking Biden’s abuse even further – expanding NFA definitions to criminalize millions more overnight.

But if the SHORT Act gets added to President Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill,” there would be no NFA effectively left to weaponize against gun owners.

That’s why we need gun owners like YOU to bombard your Senators with phone calls urging them to add the SHORT Act into H.R. 1.

Call your Senators at (202) 224-3121.

Or, if you’d rather speak directly with the Senate Finance Committee, you can reach them at (202) 224-4515.

GOA will not rest until the NFA has been entirely ripped to shreds, and your God-given rights are restored.

To help us finish the job, please consider making a contribution to our 2A Defense Fund.