Rep. Eric Burlison (R) is beginning 2026 right where he spent 2025, namely, pushing for the end of the ATF’s registration schemes and for the abolition of the agency itself.
On January 12, 2026, he posted to X:
He used a post on January 11, 2026, to remind Americans that the $200 tax on suppressors was done away via the language of the One Big Beautiful Bill, yet the ATF continues registering the devices. In so doing, the agency creates “busywork” that slows the transfer of a suppressor, “holding gun owners hostage with delays and excuses.”
Burlison pointed out that the zeroing of the $200 federal has resulted in a “surge” in suppressor purchases, which has translated into a backlog at the ATF as the agency finds itself overwhelmed with the registration workload: “…the ATF wasn’t ready for the surge in registrations and crashed their system. Unacceptable! Now they’re still demanding paperwork for no reason. Time to end this pointless registry entirely…”
He wrote, “I sent a letter demanding fixes, but the real solution is abolishing the ATF altogether. We don’t need unelected bureaucrats infringing on our rights. Congress must act to dismantle this relic and restore liberty!”
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. Follow him on X: @awrhawkins. You can sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.
