Michigan's Suppressor Felony Is the Next NFA Domino — Here's the Legal Trap

Michigan House Republicans introduced HB 6284 and HB 6285 on August 27, 2026 — the first state legislation introduced in direct response to the Silencer Shop Foundation v. ATF ruling. The bills would repeal Michigan's stand-alone criminal prohibitions on suppressors, SBRs, and SBSs. Both sit in House Judiciary with no hearing date. The problem they solve is urgent: without them, Michigan gun owners face a five-year felony under state law even when federal registration is no longer enforceable.

The Legal Trap: How the Federal Injunction Created a Michigan State Law Emergency

The Silencer Shop Foundation v. ATF ruling of August 5, 2026 changed the federal landscape for suppressors, SBRs, and SBSs permanently for covered parties. For those unfamiliar: the Northern District of Texas issued a final judgment permanently barring enforcement of the NFA registration, transfer, and identification requirements for those items as to parties covered by the injunction. For covered parties, acquiring a suppressor is now a standard 4473 + NICS transaction. No Form 4. No wait. No $200 tax — that was already $0 since January 1.

Here is the problem the Michigan bills are designed to solve. Michigan law, under MCL 750.224(1)(b), independently bans possession of suppressors with felony penalties of up to five years. Michigan law under MCL 750.224b independently bans SBRs and SBSs with the same five-year felony exposure. Both statutes carve out exceptions for items that comply with federal law — but those exceptions are written around a federal registration process that the court has now blocked.

The result is a legal trap. A Michigan gun owner who is a covered party under the Silencer Shop Foundation injunction, and who acquires a suppressor through a standard 4473 + NICS transaction without federal paperwork, is complying with federal law as it now stands for covered parties. That same person may simultaneously be violating MCL 750.224(1)(b) because their suppressor does not have the federal paperwork that Michigan's state exception requires. Federal legality and state felony exposure are coexisting for the same transaction.

“Here is the trap: a Michigan gun owner could follow the new federal reality and still violate outdated state law. Michigan law is tied directly to the federal registry — if you don't have federal paperwork, you're breaking state law.” — Great Lakes Gun Rights, August 2026

This is not a hypothetical risk. Michigan law enforcement officers who encounter someone with a suppressor or SBR will apply Michigan state law, not a Northern District of Texas injunction. The injunction does not bind Michigan law enforcement. The injunction does not bind the Michigan Attorney General. It binds federal ATF agents and certain identified defendants. A Michigan resident who relies solely on covered-party status under the federal injunction and acquires a suppressor without Form 4 paperwork is not protected from Michigan state prosecution.

What HB 6284 and HB 6285 Actually Do

HB 6285 — The Substantive Repeal

HB 6285, introduced by Rep. James DeSana (R-Carleton), is the substantive bill. It amends three sections of Michigan's 1931 Penal Code:

• MCL 750.222 — Removes the definitions of “suppressor,” “short-barreled rifle,” and “short-barreled shotgun” from the section's definitional framework
• MCL 750.224 — Removes suppressors from the list of prohibited weapons under Michigan's general deadly weapon statute
• MCL 750.231 — Cleans up exemptions and exceptions that reference the now-repealed sections
• MCL 750.224b — REPEALED IN FULL. This is the section that makes SBR and SBS possession a five-year felony. Full repeal eliminates the state-level prohibition entirely.

The practical effect of HB 6285 if passed: Michigan law no longer independently prohibits suppressors, SBRs, or SBSs. Michigan residents would be subject only to federal law — which currently, for covered parties, does not require registration, transfer paperwork, or the $200 tax (already $0). For non-covered parties, federal Form 4 at $0 cost remains the process.

HB 6284 — The Sentencing Guidelines Cleanup

HB 6284, introduced by Rep. Mike Hoadley, is the companion bill that updates Michigan's sentencing guidelines to remove references to the suppressors, SBRs, and SBSs that HB 6285 is decriminalizing. Sentencing guideline statutes reference the underlying criminal provisions; when the underlying provision is repealed, the guidelines need corresponding cleanup to avoid orphan references that could create interpretive confusion.

The two bills are tied by a tie-bar provision, which means neither takes effect without the other. The legislature must pass both or neither. This is standard practice for paired legislation where one bill creates substantive changes and the companion cleans up downstream references.

Why Michigan Is the First Domino — And Why Every State With Similar Laws Faces the Same Problem

Michigan is not unique in having state-level suppressor and SBR restrictions that piggyback on federal NFA compliance. As of August 2026, several states maintain independent state restrictions on suppressors, SBRs, and SBSs that are written around the federal registration process. Those state restrictions did not disappear when the Silencer Shop Foundation ruling changed federal enforcement. They remain in effect under state law and can be enforced by state law enforcement regardless of federal court orders binding only federal agencies.

The states most directly affected are those whose suppressor or SBR laws, like Michigan's, create exceptions specifically for items that comply with the federal NFA process. When the federal NFA process is enjoined for a class of covered parties, those exceptions become ambiguous or inapplicable, depending on how state courts interpret them. The safest legal path for residents of those states is the same as for Michigan: file federal paperwork, even at $0 cost, to satisfy the state exception until the state legislature acts.

Michigan's HB 6284 and HB 6285 represent the first state legislative response to that problem. CAT Outdoors described them as likely the first state legislation moved in direct answer to the injunction, noting that Michigan won't stay alone and that every state whose suppressor or SBR statutes piggyback on NFA compliance woke up August 13 with the same gap. The bills' introduction in Michigan should serve as a signal to gun owners in other states with similar statutes: check your state law before acting on federal covered-party status.

The Path Forward: What Needs to Happen

House Judiciary Committee Hearing

The immediate requirement is a Judiciary Committee hearing. Bills introduced in Michigan go to the relevant committee, and without a hearing they cannot advance. The Michigan House returned from summer recess September 1. The House Republican caucus that introduced these bills has the ability to schedule a hearing — the question is whether leadership prioritizes it in the fall session calendar alongside appropriations and other scheduled business.

Gun owners who want to see these bills move should contact their Michigan House representative and the House Judiciary Committee directly. The Michigan Legislature's official bill tracker lists current committee assignment and contact information for both HB 6284 and HB 6285.

Floor Vote and Senate

If the Judiciary Committee schedules a hearing and advances the bills, they would proceed to the full House for a floor vote. Michigan's House has a Republican majority. The bills were introduced by Republicans. Passage through the House is plausible if the bills receive a hearing.

The Senate would need to act subsequently — either by taking up the House bills or advancing its own SB 1150/1151 companions. Michigan's Senate also has a Republican majority. Senate action on a bill that has already passed the House with support on a straightforward preemption/alignment question is possible in the current session.

Governor's Signature

Michigan's Governor Gretchen Whitmer (D) would need to sign the bills into law. Governor Whitmer has not made public statements on HB 6284 or HB 6285 as of September 14. A Democratic governor signing bills that repeal state-level suppressor and SBR prohibitions is not a certainty. The political dynamics here are worth monitoring — the bills are framed as a state-law alignment measure correcting a conflict created by a federal court ruling, not as an expansion of gun rights per se. Whether that framing is persuasive to the Governor's office is an open question.

What Michigan Residents Should Do Right Now

The advice is straightforward and the same as it was before HB 6284 and HB 6285 were introduced:

• If you want to own a suppressor in Michigan: File a Form 4 (to transfer from a dealer) or a Form 1 (to manufacture). Both are $0 cost since January 1, 2026. The eForm 4 median approval time is six days according to NSSF. This gives you federal paperwork that satisfies Michigan's state law exception.
• If you want to own an SBR or SBS in Michigan: Same process. Form 1 to manufacture, or Form 4 to transfer from a dealer. Federal paperwork at $0 cost, median six-day approval, satisfies MCL 750.224b's federal compliance exception.
• Do NOT rely on covered-party status under the Silencer Shop Foundation injunction to bypass Michigan's state law. The injunction does not bind Michigan law enforcement. Michigan state prosecution is a separate risk from federal prosecution.
• Monitor HB 6284 and HB 6285 at the Michigan Legislature's official bill tracker. Contact your House representative and the Judiciary Committee if you want to see hearings scheduled.
• Consult a licensed Michigan firearms attorney if you have questions about your specific situation. The intersection of the federal injunction and Michigan state law is complex enough that general guidance has limits.

Bill Reference

Bottom Line: File the Form. Watch the Bills.

Michigan's HB 6284 and HB 6285 are the right fix to a real problem created when a federal court ruling changed the landscape faster than state legislatures could respond. The Silencer Shop Foundation ruling did not touch Michigan state law. It touched only federal enforcement. Michigan gun owners who fail to understand that distinction face a five-year felony under a statute that their state legislature has not yet updated.

The bills are in Judiciary. They have no hearing date. Legislative calendars are unpredictable. Do not wait for the bills to pass before acquiring a suppressor or SBR. File a Form 4 or Form 1 at $0 cost, take your six-day median approval, and get federal paperwork that satisfies Michigan's current state law exception. When HB 6284 and HB 6285 pass — if they pass — that paperwork will no longer be required. Until they do, it protects you from a five-year state felony.

Gun Talk Media will cover any hearing date, committee vote, or floor action on HB 6284 and HB 6285 as it develops. Monitor Great Lakes Gun Rights and Michigan House Republicans for updates. This is a story that is moving — it just hasn't moved yet.