Federal gun-control rules quietly stripped from 'less-lethal' weapons

What it does

This bill removes federal excise taxes and National Firearms Act (NFA) registration requirements from 'less-than-lethal projectile devices' — weapons like rubber bullet launchers, bean bag guns, and similar devices that fire projectiles below 500 feet per second and are not designed to cause death or serious injury. Manufacturers, importers, and buyers of qualifying devices would no longer pay the 10–11% federal firearms excise tax, and these devices would no longer require the NFA's $200 tax stamp, registration, and background-check process. Law enforcement agencies, security firms, and civilian buyers of less-lethal weapons are the primary beneficiaries.

Why we flagged it

The bill's operative mechanism is a dual tax exemption — removing both the federal excise tax and NFA registration requirements — for a defined category of less-lethal projectile devices, primarily benefiting manufacturers and distributors of such weapons.

What the text implies

• The 500 feet-per-second velocity threshold is a hard definitional line, but Treasury (not a public-safety agency like ATF or DOJ) administers the classification list — meaning the agency with least public-safety expertise decides what qualifies as 'less-than-lethal.'
• Devices on the Secretary's discretionary list under §4182(d)(1)(B) — those exceeding 500 fps but still deemed non-lethal — are also exempt, creating a secondary category whose boundaries are set by annual administrative review with limited public input.
• Removing NFA registration eliminates federal tracking of these devices, which could complicate law enforcement tracing if a device is used in a crime or modified to fire conventional ammunition.
• The 90-day manufacturer classification request process gives industry a formal pathway to lobby for exemption status, potentially expanding the exempt category over time through administrative rather than legislative action.
• The bill does not address state-level regulations, so the practical effect on access will vary significantly by jurisdiction — some states may impose their own controls that partially offset the federal deregulation.

Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.

Who it affects

Reducing costs and regulatory friction for less-lethal weapons used in law enforcement and civilian de-escalation is a plausible public-safety benefit, but removing NFA oversight also eliminates a layer of federal tracking and accountability for devices that, while sub-lethal by design, can still cause serious injury — and the 500 fps velocity threshold and definitional criteria will be administered by Treasury, not a public-safety agency.

Who stands to gain

• less-lethal weapons manufacturers (e.g., rubber bullet, bean bag, and conducted-energy projectile ma
• firearms and defense equipment importers
• law enforcement equipment distributors
• private security equipment suppliers

Named in the bill

Internal Revenue Service (Treasury Secretary), House Committee on Ways and Means, Senate Committee on Finance, National Firearms Act (NFA), IRC Section 4181, IRC Section 4182, IRC Section 5845

Where it stands

50 cosponsors: 32 Republicans, 18 Democrats.

• Jun 27, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
• Jun 27, 2025 — Referred to House Committee on Ways and Means · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means”
• Dec 10, 2025 — Markup held in committee · Congress.gov: “Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held”
• Dec 10, 2025 — Reported out of committee · Congress.gov: “Ordered to be Reported in the Nature of a Substitute (Amended) by the Yeas and Nays: 26 - 15”

Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.

Money around this bill

7 lobbying clients named this bill on 11 disclosure filings across 2 quarters, Dec 2025 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $1,415,500 in lobbying spend. A filing names 3 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.

More lobbying clients named this bill than 86% of bills with at least one filing.

David Schweikert, the sponsor, reported $596,527 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle. $2,500 of that came from 1 PAC tied to these lobbying clients.

• National Rifle Association of America — $990,000 on 2 filings
• Axon Enterprise, Inc. — $140,000 on 2 filings
• Axon Enterprise, Inc. — $120,000 on 2 filings
• Axon Enterprise, Inc — $50,000 on 1 filing
• Axon Enterprise, Inc. — $50,000 on 1 filing

Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 20, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.