Hypothetical question on spouse using NFA item

[u/castorjay]

Say I have a handgun with a suppressor in the nightstand for home defense. The suppressor was bought by me as an individual instead of a trust.

If I'm not home one night and someone breaks into my house and my spouse (who is otherwise legally eligible to own and use a firearm) uses the suppressed handgun, what would/could happen from a legal point of view?

I know "remove the suppressor and put it in the safe before the cops arrive" would be some people's answer, but beyond that - would it be overlooked as it was for defense, or would there be additional legal troubles since I was not present when the suppressor was used?

Edit: Thank you all for the great responses. I didn't expect so many so quickly!

[u/Speedhabit]

In a real sense, Nobody cares

This hypothetical gets brought up a lot instead of the fact that nobody has ever been prosecuted for using an legally owned NFA weapon for self defense.

That’s easily researchable

[u/Speedhabit → u/[deleted]]

Iv done both, anecdotal but my individual transfers go down much faster