Media Contact: Georgia Seltzer, (202) 822-8200 x104, gseltzer@vpc.org
Campaign Research Notes – October 22, 2025
While some awaiting processing of Small Business Loans or those tracking F.D.A. approval of new drug and medical device applications have to wait during the government shutdown, individuals seeking to purchase firearm silencers, short-barreled rifles, or pre-1986 machine guns can breathe a sigh of relief — thanks to recent efforts by the gun lobby, firearms industry, and pro-gun House members.
At the beginning of the shutdown, federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) examiners in the agency’s National Firearms Act (NFA) Division were furloughed along with other “non-essential” employees. As a result, the applications required for these more tightly regulated weapons and accessories were not being processed. So, while the National Nuclear Security Administration (the federal agency tasked with overseeing the U.S. nuclear stockpile) has begun furloughing its employees as part of the shutdown, for those purchasing NFA-regulated products, it’s back to business as usual — which is especially important for the firearms industry. NFA weapons and accessories (especially firearm silencers) have become a financial sweet spot amidst moribund gun sales. In their correspondence, the industry’s financial interests are left unstated, replaced with a focus on the Second Amendment and the supposed need for these specific weapons to protect home and hearth.
In an October 16 letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi, the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF, the official trade association for the firearms industry) urged the resumption of NFA applications as well as import permits, stating:
A right delayed is a right denied. Although NSSF understands that the government faces countless difficult decisions during a shutdown regarding which functions are critical and must remain operational, a key consideration in making such decisions must be whether suspending an operation negatively affects or prevents the exercise of the fundamental rights of American citizens. The suspension of commercial import permits and NFA form processing does just that, by denying Americans the ability to obtain products constitutionally protected by the Second Amendment for the duration of the ongoing government shutdown.
That same day, Rep. Ben Cline (R-VA) and 29 other House members also sent a letter to ATF Acting Director Daniel Driscoll warning that:
ATF’s current policy of furloughing NFA examiners may compromise human life and the protection of property. Just as it has now, ATF stopped processing NFA applications during the October 2013, January 2018, and 2018-2019 winter government shutdowns. During these periods of indefinite delay, ATF deprived Americans of access to regulated arms. The inability to acquire firearms necessarily infringes Americans’ ability to protect themselves, their loved ones, and their property.
Just to remind the reader, protection involving a firearm silencer, short-barreled rifle, or pre-1986 machine gun. During the shutdown, “Americans’ ability” under federal law to purchase assault weapons, standard rifles, shotguns, and handguns, and even 50 caliber armor-piercing sniper rifles has remained unfettered.
The letter asked that “within the next 10 days” Driscoll respond with a plan to:
- Protect Americans’ Second Amendment Rights to NFA-regulated firearms during a period of government shutdown;
- Issue a determination to designate NFA examiners as excepted during a government shutdown; and
- Articulate what plan you have in place to prevent these indefinite Second Amendment-related delays from recurring in the future.
Well, that was quick.
The next day Gun Owners of America (GOA) sent out an email declaring victory, stating that “GOA and Congressional allies spent the first 17 days of the shutdown demanding that Acting ATF Director Daniel Driscoll IMMEDIATELY classify NFA processors as ‘essential’… We came out on top, and the ATF is now recalling its NFA examiners to work during the shutdown. They’re expected to return to work on Monday [October 20th] and clear the backlog within 7-10 days.”
The organization urged readers to “CELEBRATE THIS VICTORY” by sending them money, asking its supporters, “Chip in today to help GOA hold the ATF and the Department of Justice accountable until every application in the backlog is cleared.”
So while the shutdown has paralyzed the work of federal agencies that actually protect American lives, the Trump administration has deemed processing applications for firearms and accessories that threaten public safety an essential activity — ensuring that while others suffer, the firearms industry and its financial partners in the gun lobby can continue to prosper.
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The Violence Policy Center is a national educational organization working to stop gun death and injury. Follow the VPC on X/Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and BlueSky.