This past Tuesday Kansas Republican Rep. Roger Marshall introduced a bill entitled the “Home Defense and Competitive Shooting Act” to the U.S. House. The bill would remove short-barreled rifles (SBR) from regulation under the National Firearm Act (NFA) and treat them like all other rifles.

Marshall argues that SBRs have been over regulated since 1934 and it is time for change. Marshall stated that “Opponents of the Home Defense and Competitive Shooting Act want to use bureaucracy and regulations to obstruct citizens attempting to exercise their God-given right to keep and bear arms.” He went on to say that “The firearms addressed in this bill are commonly used for hunting, personal defense, and competitive shooting.”

As regulated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Under current NFA law, SBRs are classified as a rifle with an overall length of fewer than 26-inches and/or a barrel of fewer than 16-inches in length. Marshall’s bill would remove such limits from NFA enforcement and place SBRs under the same classifications as any other rifle.

According to ATF statistics, as of May 2019, 413,167 SBRs were registered to the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record (NFRTR). These numbers have steadily risen over the years as these firearms become more and more popular. Many gun owners have chosen to legally convert AR and AK-style pistols to SBRs after processing a Form 1 and paying a $200 tax stamp which adds to the numbers. Only a half decade ago, In 2014, only 137,201 SBRs were registered.

The bill has the support of gun rights groups such as the National Rifle Association (NRA) and Gun Owners of America (GOA). The bill is listed as H.R. 5289 and has 16 Republican co-sponsors.

“Since I came to Congress, I have fought tooth and nail to stop attempts that would strip our Constitutional right to keep and bear arms,” said Marshall. “This bill will eliminate regulations designed not to protect Americans, but to deny them their Constitutional rights.”

H.R. 5289 has been referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means, as well as to the Committee on the Judiciary. Both are controlled by Democrats. Let’s see how this plays out.