In 2021, the state of Texas passed the Texas Suppressor Freedom Act. This act aimed to exempt suppressors manufactured in the state from federal regulations, specifically the National Firearms Act. However, its passage initiated a series of lawsuits questioning the law’s authority to override federal regulations. A lower court and the 5th Circuit rejected Texas’s attempt to deregulate. But in 2025, we are closer to formally removing suppressors from the NFA. In a recent post, we examined the One Big Beautiful Bill and the inclusion of the Hearing Protection Act. For more information on that, click here.
However, the fate of the bill in the Senate remains uncertain. This uncertainty has bled over into state legislatures seeking to undermine the National Firearms Act. One of these states is Ohio, where state representatives and senators recently introduced House Bill 331 and Senate Bill 214. These bills, which are identical in wording, are designed to “remove firearm mufflers, suppressors as dangerous ordnance.” Specifically, the bills amend sections 1533.04, 2923.11, and 2923.17 that discuss suppressors or mufflers as dangerous ordnance.
While not a stand like the Texas Suppressor Freedom Act, this bill is a smart direction for a state looking to legitimize suppressors as “commonly owned devices.” What’s more interesting is the removal of language in Sec. 1553.04 (A):
A person who holds a valid hunting license issued under this chapter and who hunts game birds or wild quadrupeds may use a suppressor attached to a gun that is authorized to be used for hunting by section 1533.16 of the Revised Code while hunting, provided that the person is authorized to possess the suppressor under state and federal laws and has registered the suppressor by the ‘National Firearms Act,’ 68A Stat. 725 (1934), 26 U.S.C. 5841, et seq., as amended. (Note that the boldened and italicized portion indicates the struck-through section of the revised bill.)
If passed, will the Buckeye State attempt to deregulate suppressors for its citizens? This updated Ohio Revised Code suggests that direction. Of course, this is all conjecture. However, in recent years, Ohio has strengthened its stance on Second Amendment issues. For example, the state has implemented constitutional carry and expanded the Castle Doctrine beyond one’s home. And this year, Governor DeWine signed the Second Amendment Privacy Act into law to protect consumers’ privacy and financial information.
This will be one to monitor going forward.
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