Big Beautiful Bill Loses Key Gun Rights Provisions: SHORT Act and Hearing Protection Act Stripped

In a significant blow to Second Amendment advocates, the Senate parliamentarian has ruled that the SHORT Act and the Hearing Protection Act (HPA) violate budget reconciliation rules and have been stripped from President Donald Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” (OBBB) as of June 27, 2025. These provisions, which aimed to deregulate short-barreled rifles (SBRs) and remove suppressors from the National Firearms Act (NFA), were seen as monumental victories for gun owners when initially included in the House-passed H.R.1 and the Senate Finance Committee’s draft. However, the unelected Senate parliamentarian, citing the Byrd Rule, determined that these measures do not fit within the budgetary constraints required for reconciliation, effectively removing them from the bill unless Republicans can muster 60 votes to override the decision. This development has sparked outrage among gun rights supporters, who view it as a betrayal of promises made to protect and expand Second Amendment freedoms.

The SHORT Act would have removed short-barreled rifles and shotguns from the NFA’s restrictive regulations, eliminating the burdensome $200 tax stamp, fingerprinting, and lengthy approval processes that have long frustrated law-abiding gun owners. Similarly, the Hearing Protection Act aimed to treat suppressors like standard firearms, scrapping the NFA’s registration requirements and tax while requiring only a standard NICS background check. These reforms were championed by figures like Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) and supported by organizations like the NRA, which argued that the NFA’s regulations infringe on Second Amendment rights and hinder access to hearing protection for hunters and shooters. The removal of these provisions means that, for now, these barriers remain in place, leaving gun owners to navigate the same costly and time-consuming processes to exercise their constitutional rights.

Ok folks. We NEED to pull together right now!
We need to call Senate Leader @leaderjohnthune office right now and DEMAND the REMOVAL of the Senate Parliamentarian!!
I’m calling…I need you to as well!
202-224-2321

-Guns & Gadgets

What happens next is uncertain, but the outlook is challenging. The Senate GOP could attempt to overrule the parliamentarian’s decision, but this would require a rare and politically risky move to bypass Senate rules, something even a Republican-controlled Senate might hesitate to do. Alternatively, these provisions could be reintroduced as standalone bills, but they would likely face filibuster threats, requiring 60 votes to advance—a tall order in a polarized Congress. Posts on X reflect the frustration among gun rights advocates, with some calling for Vice President JD Vance to intervene or for Republicans to fight harder to restore the provisions. Others, however, speculate that the GOP may lack the political will to prioritize these measures, especially as they rush to meet Trump’s July 4 deadline for the OBBB’s passage. The loss of these provisions could galvanize pro-gun voters to pressure their senators, but without swift action, these reforms may remain stalled.

There’s a growing suspicion among some in the gun community that the SHORT Act and HPA were included in the OBBB as “sacrificial lambs”—provisions deliberately added with the expectation that they would be cut to appease moderates or satisfy procedural hurdles like the Byrd Rule. This theory suggests that GOP leadership may have used these popular gun rights measures as bargaining chips to push through other priorities, such as tax cuts or deregulation, knowing they could be jettisoned to secure broader support or avoid a filibuster. Such a strategy, if true, would be a bitter pill for Second Amendment supporters who celebrated the initial inclusion of these reforms as a historic win. The NRA and other groups have urged gun owners to contact Senators John Cornyn and Ted Cruz to demand the restoration of these provisions, but the political reality suggests that leadership may have anticipated this outcome all along, using the promise of gun rights advancements to rally support without intending to see them through.

This development underscores a broader tension in the fight for Second Amendment rights: the clash between bold promises and the realities of legislative maneuvering. While the OBBB still contains significant tax and spending reforms, the removal of the SHORT Act and HPA feels like a betrayal to many who saw these as long-overdue corrections to outdated and restrictive laws. The gun community must now decide whether to double down on advocacy or brace for further disappointments as the Senate finalizes the bill. If these provisions were indeed sacrificial lambs, it raises questions about the GOP’s commitment to prioritizing gun rights in future battles. For now, the fight continues, and gun owners are left to wonder whether their voices will be heard or if they’ll be drowned out by the political calculus of Washington.

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