BRADY FIERCELY CONDEMNS INCLUSION OF DANGEROUS PROVISION TO UNLEASH SILENCERS AND OTHER DANGEROUS WEAPONS IN TRUMP TAX BILL

The latest tax reconciliation bill passed by the Senate looks to make silencers and uniquely lethal firearms more accessible by removing taxes, funneling billions to gun industry executives

WASHINGTON D.C., July 1, 2025 – Today, Brady, the nation’s oldest gun violence prevention organization, denounced President Trump’s tax reconciliation bill passed in the Senate which seeks to make gun silencers, short-barreled rifles and shotguns and other dangerous firearms far more accessible.

While an earlier provision introduced by Senate Republicans to fully deregulate silencers and numerous other dangerous weapons under the National Firearms Act was ruled as violating Senate rules, the latest provision was quickly introduced and focused on eliminating taxes. This would ultimately make it easier for the proliferation of these weapons into our communities and the funnelling of billions straight to the pockets of the gun industry. 

The original sponsor of the tax repeal provision, gun store owner Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-GA), explicitly stated the strategy in including this tax provision in Trump’s tax bill is for the gun industry to turn to our federal courts next to argue against any regulation of these weapons at all. As exposed in Brady’s GunStoreTransparency.org database, Rep. Clyde’s business has previously been identified as selling a high number of guns eventually used in crime.

Brady President Kris Brown said:

Just days removed from a heinous sniper attack on first responders, leaving two firefighters dead and others wounded, it is outrageous that Trump’s allies in the Senate have passed a bill that puts countless lives at risk, lines the pockets of gun industry executives, and gives a giant gift to would-be mass shooters and assassins. Make no mistake: by making firearm silencers and other uniquely lethal weapons more accessible, lawmakers have chosen a path of increased violence and have sent a message to their constituents that their lives and safety just aren’t that important. 

Gun store owner Rep. Clyde and other gun industry allies in Congress have been very clear their motive isn’t simply to repeal a commonsense, century-old tax. This provision is just the first step on the gun industry’s march to eliminate all safeguards on selling uniquely dangerous weapons and accessories, and Brady is prepared to fight in court if necessary to ensure these are inaccessible to those seeking out violence. 

If this bailout for the gun industry leads to more bloodshed, no amount of water will wash these Senators’ hands clean.

These deadly firearms and accessories have been used in targeted, assassination-style murders, including mass shootings. Silencers enable criminals to elude law enforcement and raise the risk of ambush attacks in which a shooter may escape before someone can even call the police. In 2019, the Virginia Beach shooter attached a silencer to a .45-caliber handgun that he used to kill 12 people on three floors of the city building where he worked; most of the victims did not flee because they did not know there was a mass shooting taking place. Short-barreled rifles constructed with shoulder stocks marketed as “stabilizing braces” have been used in at least four modern mass murders, including in Dayton, OH, where a shooter killed 9  and injured 27 others in just 32 seconds. Almost 100 years ago, Congress enacted this law for weapons with extreme lethality, no lawful purposes, and common use in crime. And for almost 100 years, it has helped protect public safety in America.