Owning sawed-off shotguns and silencers without federal registration is illegal in Kansas, but state lawmakers and National Rifle Association lawsuits are trying to change that.
A bevy of federal lawsuits attempting to overturn the National Firearms Act, or NFA, and a bill by Kansas lawmakers could remove gun modification registration requirements altogether.
A Kansas law makes both silencers and short-barreled shotguns illegal to own without registration under the NFA.
That federal law changed with the Trump Administration’s One Big Beautiful Bill. A longstanding $200 tax for people registering silencers and sawed-off shotguns under the NFA was removed with the legislation.
The reasoning behind the suits is the fact that despite the removal of the $200 tax owners still must register their gun modifications federally.
Republican Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach told lawmakers Monday that the difference in federal and state law is a “trap.”
“I'm sure many people in this room have fired a gun with a suppressor on it in the state of Kansas,” Kobach said at a committee meeting, “not knowing that was a violation of Kansas criminal law.”
Removing the Kansas rules would mean if the federal registration requirement is overturned, there would be nothing in state law preventing owning silencers and short-barreled shotguns.
The proposed change in state law comes as firearm suppressor sales are growing, and the removal of federal registration costs might accelerate that.
According to data from the American Suppressor Association, the number of registered silencers has increased from almost 800,000 in 2015 to nearly six million at the beginning of 2026.
The biggest challenge to the legislation is coming from Kansas law enforcement organizations.
The organizations say they want there to be deterrents in place for people using the gun modifications when committing a crime.
“What we’re trying to do is address those folks that might use the silencer in a nefarious way,” Kansas Sheriff’s Association Legislative Chair and Sedgwick County Sheriff Jeff Easter said. “Not the legal gun owners or suppression owners.”
The Kansas Association of Chiefs of Police Legislative Chair Chief Darrell Atteberry did not oppose the silencer portion of the bill, but did not like short-barreled shotguns being included.
“That’s a scary thing,” The Bel-Aire police chief said. “They’re devastating.”
Zach Boblitt reports on the Kansas Statehouse and government for Kansas Public Radio and the Kansas News Service. You can email him at zach.boblitt@ku.edu.
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