Montana AG Austin Knudsen Announces Progress in Effort to Bring State in Line with Relaxed ATF Suppressor Rules
Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen (R) announced progress in his work with the legislature to bring his state in line with the ATF’s relaxed suppressor purchase rules.
Breitbart News reported that on October 9, 2026, ATF director Robert Cekada announced the ATF would no longer require purchasers to go through the tedious and cumbersome registration requirements that had been part of suppressor purchases since 1934.
Cekada, along with the DOJ, did this by broadening the application of an August 5, 2026, U.S. District Court judge’s ruling that found the registration process unconstitutional.
The ATF’s guidance on the subject says:
Although the district court’s injunction applies only to plaintiffs and certain other specified persons, the Department has determined to exercise its enforcement discretion to create greater uniformity, consistent with the Attorney General’s statement today. Consequently, effective October 9, 2026, ATF will no longer require individuals to seek ATF approval under the NFA before making or transferring short-barreled rifles, short-barreled shotguns, or silencers, and “any other weapon[s]” as defined in 26 U.S.C. § 5845(e).
But Cekada made clear to Breitbart News that the ATF’s stance impacted federal rules and would not change the fact that a number of states still require a completed Form 1 or Form 4 for suppressor or short-barreled rifle and shotgun purchases.
Montana is one of the states that still requires residents to go beyond the new ATF requirements for suppressor sales, and AG Knudsen announced Monday that progress has been achieved in changing that.
He posted a press release from the Montana House of Representatives noting legislation that will be taken up during the coming legislative session to bring the state in line with purchase procedures now in place for the majority of the country.
In an X post, Knudsen wrote: “As promised. I’ve been working with MT Leg. Republicans on a bill to REPEAL all Montana state laws requiring ATF Form 4 tax stamps for suppressors, SBRs and SBSs in Montana.”
He also took time to thank the specific legislators spearheading the effort to do this, writing, “Kudos to Senators Wylie Galt and Carl Glimm, and Rep. Braxton Mitchell.”
AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio and the director of global marketing for Lone Star Hunts. He holds a PhD in Military History with a focus on the Vietnam War (brown water navy), U.S. Navy since Inception, the Civil War, and Early Modern Europe. He enjoys reading Philosophy and novels by Jack Carr and Nelson DeMille. He is a lever action man in an AR-15 world. Follow him on X: @awrhawkins. You can sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.
