Ohio AG Asks Lawmakers to Fix Suppressor and SBR Law

Last updated October 2026 · By Nick Hall, NFA owner who has followed the registration fight from the Texas ruling to the state capitols

Quick take: Ohio Attorney General Andy Wilson wants lawmakers to close a gap that ATF opened on October 9. Ohio law still treats an unregistered short-barreled rifle, short-barreled shotgun or suppressor as illegal dangerous ordnance, even though ATF no longer requires registration. His letter asks the General Assembly to keep that rule on purpose or cut it.

• What happened: On October 23, 2026, Wilson sent a letter to Senate President Rob McColley and House Speaker Matt Huffman asking them to clarify Ohio’s firearm laws.
• Why it matters: Ohio’s exceptions for these items still turn on federal registration, and possessing dangerous ordnance without one is a fifth-degree felony.
• What’s next: Nothing changes until lawmakers amend the statutes the letter names, Revised Code sections 2923.17, 2923.11 and 1533.04.
• Who to watch: The Ohio House, where Senate Bill 214, a suppressor bill that passed the Senate 31 to 1, has been in committee since May 13.

ATF stopped asking for the paperwork. Ohio’s criminal code never got that message, and the state’s top lawyer has now put it in writing that an Ohioan who takes ATF at its word could still be committing a felony at home.

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What Attorney General Andy Wilson Asked For

The Ohio Attorney General’s office put out a release on October 23, 2026 saying Wilson “today asked state legislators to clarify Ohio’s firearm laws following a recent announcement by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.”

The four-page letter is addressed to Senate President Rob McColley and Speaker Matt Huffman. Wilson says his office has been fielding questions, and that “ATF’s announcement has created uncertainty among Ohio firearm owners, law enforcement and the business community.”

He also flags something more pointed. “I have also been made aware of reports of individuals physically modifying firearms, potentially in violation of state law,” he wrote.

Then the line that matters: “Under current Ohio law, Ohioans wishing to own or use a short-barreled rifle, short-barreled shotgun or firearm suppressor must register those items with the federal government or face the risk of criminal prosecution. If that reflects the policy of this legislature, so be it.”

And the other door: “If, on the other hand, the legislature sees these registration requirements as archaic remnants of an overly restrictive past, it is time to eliminate them from Ohio law.” Nobody calls a rule an archaic remnant because they want to keep it.

What ATF Changed on October 9

Wilson’s letter quotes ATF’s Open Letter of October 9, 2026 directly. Effective that day, ATF “will no longer require individuals to seek ATF approval under the NFA before making or transferring short-barreled rifles, short-barreled shotguns, silencers” and AOWs, and “will also no longer require such items to be registered in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record.”

That followed Congress cutting the making and transfer taxes on those items to $0 in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, and an August 5 ruling in Silencer Shop Foundation v. ATF in the Northern District of Texas. The Justice Department chose not to appeal, which we covered in our report on DOJ’s decision not to appeal.

ATF’s move is enforcement discretion, not a repeal, and our breakdown of the ATF NFA guidance covers its limits. One of them is the whole reason for this story. The Open Letter says the new policy does “not affect state or local laws that govern NFA weapons.”

Where Ohio Suppressor Law Still Requires Registration

Ohio starts from a flat ban. Revised Code 2923.17(A) says “No person shall knowingly acquire, have, carry, or use any dangerous ordnance,” and a violation is a felony of the fifth degree.

Section 2923.11 puts “Any firearm muffler or suppressor” in the definition of dangerous ordnance, along with any “sawed-off firearm.” That means a shotgun with a barrel under 18 inches, a rifle with a barrel under 16 inches, or either one under 26 inches overall.

The way out for most owners is division (C)(5) of 2923.17, which exempts “Owners of dangerous ordnance registered in the national firearms registration and transfer record.” For suppressors used on hunting guns, division (C)(8) points to section 1533.04, which requires the can to be registered under the National Firearms Act.

Wilson’s reading is blunt. “Whether the federal government can or would sanction an individual or any other person for failing to register the firearm in the national firearms registration and transfer record is irrelevant,” he wrote. “The only question is whether the firearm is registered in the record.”

On suppressors he goes further: “So long as the National Firearms Act provides for the registration of firearm suppressors, failure to do so remains a crime under Ohio law.”

Ohio Joins Alaska in the Same Bind

Ohio is not the first state to hit this wall. Eight days earlier, Alaska’s acting attorney general asked her Legislature for the same kind of fix, which we covered in Alaska’s suppressor and SBR law story.

ATF saw this coming. Its Open Letter, as Wilson quotes it, says “Most states have general criminal prohibitions on the possession of some or all NFA items. These laws often have exceptions for those NFA items possessed in compliance with or registered under federal law.”

Ohio is the textbook case. Its exceptions are written around a federal record that ATF still keeps but no longer makes anyone use.

What Ohio Owners Should Do Right Now

Treat the letter as a warning, not a permission slip. It is a request to lawmakers, nothing in the Revised Code has changed, and Wilson’s own reading is that an unregistered SBR, SBS or suppressor in Ohio is still outside the exceptions.

Registration is still open. ATF says it “will continue to administer the NFA on a voluntary basis” and will accept Form 1, Form 3 and Form 4 applications, and the tax on these items is $0. If I lived in Columbus with a can on order, I would file the form and wait for the approval before taking it home, because that piece of federal paper is the thing Ohio’s exception actually checks for.

Do not cut a barrel or pin a stock on the strength of a headline about ATF. Wilson specifically mentions people modifying guns, and if you already have an unregistered item, talk to an Ohio firearms lawyer.

What Happens Next at the Ohio Statehouse

Wilson asks for action “during the waning days of this General Assembly,” the 136th, which covers 2025 and 2026. “Ohio’s citizens deserve it,” he wrote.

There is already a vehicle for part of it. Senate Bill 214, sponsored by Senator Kyle Koehler, would “remove firearm mufflers and suppressors from the classification of dangerous ordnance.” It passed the Senate 31 to 1 on March 25, 2026, and was referred to the House Public Safety Committee on May 13, with no later action listed.

Its title covers suppressors only, so short-barreled rifles and shotguns would still need their own fix. We covered the bill in our earlier look at SB 214.

Ohio’s top lawyer just told the legislature its own gun law is a trap. Until it changes, the federal form is free. File it.

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• Suppressor Laws in Ohio (2026)
• Ohio Gun Laws Explained
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• Alaska AG: State Suppressor and SBR Law Needs a Fix
• Suppressor Laws by State (2026)
• How to Buy a Suppressor