Gun Owners of America just threw its full weight behind Rep. Lauren Boebert’s bold legislation to repeal the $200 federal transfer tax on machine guns, a move that could finally begin dismantling one of the most blatant infringements written into the National Firearms Act of 1934. For nearly a century, Americans have been forced to beg permission from the ATF, pay a punitive tax, and endure months or years of bureaucratic delay simply to exercise their right to own firearms that were in common use among law-abiding citizens when the Second Amendment was ratified. GOA’s endorsement signals that the fight is no longer just about pistols, suppressors, or short-barreled rifles; it’s about rejecting the entire unconstitutional premise that Congress can tax a fundamental right out of existence.

This isn’t some minor housekeeping bill. The $200 tax was deliberately set at a crushing level in 1934, equivalent to roughly $4,700 today, specifically to price working-class Americans out of the market while the government stockpiled full-auto weapons for itself. That discriminatory scheme has remained virtually untouched while inflation turned it into a minor annoyance for the wealthy but an absolute barrier for most enthusiasts. Boebert’s bill strikes directly at that historical anti-gun prejudice by eliminating the tax entirely, potentially opening the door for renewed civilian interest in transferable machine guns and exposing the lie that such firearms are somehow uniquely dangerous in the hands of trained, law-abiding owners. The 2A community has long recognized that every NFA restriction is a domino; knocking out the tax on machine guns could create powerful momentum against the Hughes Amendment and the registry closure that has artificially inflated prices into the tens of thousands.

For gun owners tired of incrementalism and “shall issue” compromises that still treat constitutional rights like privileges, this legislation represents a welcome return to first principles. If Congress can tax machine guns into oblivion, what’s to stop them from slapping a $5,000 excise tax on AR-15s or a $200 stamp on every semi-automatic handgun? GOA’s backing of Boebert’s bill sends an unmistakable message: the era of meekly accepting New Deal-era infringements is over. The fight is shifting from merely defending what little ground remains to affirmatively dismantling the legal architecture built to disarm the American people one tax, one registration, one permission slip at a time. Whether this bill survives the legislative gauntlet or not, it forces the conversation back where it belongs, on the fundamental truth that the Second Amendment is not a suggestion subject to fees and federal approval.