Texas Made Suppressors

I was asked about this not long ago and thought I would talk about this.  The question was can I purchase a silencer/suppressor that is made in Texas without registering it and paying a $200 tax stamp to the ATF?

My response:
Yes but I wouldn't.

A little about the law
Texas House Bill 957 says a suppressor made in Texas and remains in Texas is not subject to federal regulation.  They also put into the law that prohibits any governmental agency (city, county, or state) from creating a policy enforcing federal law on a Texas made suppressor or they will lose state funding for the following year (not much of a deterrent in my opinion).  So if an officer wants to file federal charges on an individual they can as long as they don't have a policy or consistent enforcement on it.

My opinion
I would not buy a Texas made suppressor and bypass the federal regulations for transfer.  Federal law supercedes state law.  While a state can have differing laws than federal they can only be more restrictive and not less.  Meaning the federal government can restrict owning a widget to 25-45 year olds, the state can say no only 30-40 year olds can own a widget.  It's a bit oversimplification but you get the idea.  Next the ATF sent a letter to gun retailers and manufacturers saying they don't care what state law says they will continue to enforce federal law as it stands.  An example of this can be found in Kansas.  About 10 years ago Kansas passed a similar law and a silencer was sold to someone without the ATF process.  Both got arrested (sales person and customer), were found guilty, and sent to federal prison.  They appealed up to the Supreme Court, who declined to hear their case, so they get to finish out their sentence.

For me and just about everyone else, it's just not worth the risk.  Create a gun trust, make sure your spouse is on it, name beneficiaries, and then pay the tax to buy a silencer.

Note:  You may have noticed sometimes I use the word silencer and sometimes I use the word suppressor.  It means the same thing just a matter of preference.  It doesn't actually silence gun fire, even with subsonic ammo, in my experience.  The ATF uses the term silencer and not suppressor.  The law created by the Texas Legislature used the term suppressor.  So I use silencer when referencing federal and suppressor for state.

Link to Texas suppressor law:
https://capitol.texas.gov/tlodocs/87R/billtext/pdf/HB00957I.pdf

Link to ATF letter to Texas FFL's:
https://www.atf.gov/firearms/docs/open-letter/texas-open-letter-hb-957/download


Download PDF of ATF letter to Texas FFL's