On July 3, 2025, Bryan Steil, the House member for Wisconsin's 1st District, voted for the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which ended the $200 federal tax on silencers and short-barreled guns; a federal judge then held that the tax repeal removed the basis for registering those weapons, and the ATF stopped requiring registration on October 9, 2026.
Steil voted against requiring a background check for every gun sale in 2019 and again in 2021, and in January 2025 he signed on to a bill that would let people from states with no permit requirement carry concealed handguns in states that require one. In 2024, 735 people died by firearm in Wisconsin.
Bryan Steil's Votes and Bill on Silencers, Background Checks and Concealed Carry
- Steil Voted for the Law Whose Silencer Tax Repeal Ended Federal Registration of Silencers and Short-Barreled Guns. On July 3, 2025, Bryan Steil voted yes on the final One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which passed 218 to 214 and "eliminated a $200 permit tax on the devices," meaning silencers and short-barreled rifles and shotguns, from January 1, 2026. In May he had cast a deciding vote for the House version, which passed 215 to 214 with one member voting present. With the tax gone, a group of states argued "the registration requirements could not stand alone," and in August 2026 a federal judge held that the change "eliminated the constitutional basis for the NFA's regulation of those firearms." The Justice Department did not appeal, and on October 9, 2026 the ATF said it "will also no longer require such items to be registered in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer record," the registry that "helps federal ATF agents trace the chain of firearm ownership" in gun-crime investigations.
- Steil Voted Against Background Checks on Every Gun Sale in 2019 and 2021. On February 27, 2019, Steil voted no on H.R. 8, the universal background check bill, which passed the House 240 to 190. On March 11, 2021, he voted no on that bill again, which was written "To require a background check for every firearm sale" and passed 227 to 203, and no on H.R. 1446, which would "strengthen the background check procedures to be followed before a Federal firearms licensee may transfer" a gun. Neither bill became law, and most Americans disagree with Steil's votes: support for background checks "generally ranges from 79% to 92% across surveys," the Stanford Public Pulse project found.
- Steil Cosponsored a Bill to Override State Concealed-Carry Permit Laws, in January 2025. On January 14, 2025, Steil signed on as a cosponsor of H.R. 38, the Constitutional Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act, according to the bill's official record. It provides that, "Notwithstanding any provision of the law of any State or political subdivision thereof," a person who "is entitled to carry a concealed firearm in the State in which the person resides" may carry a concealed handgun in other states, including people from states that require no permit at all. The House Judiciary Committee reported the bill in October 2025. Most Americans oppose what it would allow: "Carrying a concealed gun without a permit is opposed by 75% to 80% of national adults," according to the Stanford Public Pulse review of surveys.
What the Gun Votes Bryan Steil Cast Mean in Wisconsin
- 735 people died by firearm in Wisconsin in 2024. KFF's compilation of federal death records counts 735 firearm deaths in Wisconsin in 2024, a rate of 12.1 per 100,000 people; these are the deaths and gun crimes that background checks and the federal registry of silencers and short-barreled guns are meant to help prevent and trace.
Frequently Asked Questions About Bryan Steil on Guns
What is Bryan Steil's record on guns under Trump?
Bryan Steil voted in 2025 for the law that zeroed out the federal tax on silencers and short-barreled rifles and shotguns, a change a judge then used to end their federal registration in 2026. He voted against universal background checks in 2019 and 2021, and in 2025 he cosponsored a bill to make states honor out-of-state concealed-carry rights, including those of people who need no permit at home.
Has Bryan Steil voted on universal background checks?
Yes. Bryan Steil voted against H.R. 8, the universal background check bill, on February 27, 2019 and again on March 11, 2021; both times it passed the House without his vote, and neither version became law. On the same day in 2021 he voted against the Enhanced Background Checks Act, which would have made a licensed dealer wait "not fewer than 10 business days" on an unfinished background check before transferring a gun.
Did Bryan Steil vote to deregulate silencers?
Yes. Bryan Steil voted on July 3, 2025 for the final One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which cut the federal tax on silencers to zero, after voting for the House version on May 22, 2025. After a court ruling built on that tax repeal, the Justice Department "moved Friday to allow more people to purchase firearm suppressors" without federal registration, KSAT reported.
Last updated: 2026-10-26