“Rifles carried by Spokane police on patrol will soon be equipped with suppressors, a move the department says will protect officers and civilians from hearing damage.” That report’s from the spokesman.com.
Gee, it’s almost as if suppressors aren’t really the preferred tools of criminals, assassins and double-naught spies after all. It turns out they’re really just common sense safety accessories meant to protect gun owners’ hearing. Who knew?
“It’s nothing more than like the muffler you put on your car,” said Lt. Rob Boothe, the range master and lead firearms instructor for the department.
Huh. Why didn’t we think of that? Muffling gunshots won’t just protect officers’ hearing, they say it will save the city money, too.
Outfitting the department’s 181 service rifles with suppressors will protect the city from the legal costs of worker’s compensation claims filed by officers, as well as from potential lawsuits filed by bystanders whose ears are exposed to firearm blasts. The sound of a fired shot can be louder than the takeoff of jet engines, the department says.
Pretty much a win-win for everyone.
If only someone would introduce legislation so that we could reduce the cost and increase the availability of suppressors for all of America’s tens of millions of gun owners.
Shown Here:
Introduced in House (01/09/2017)Hearing Protection Act of 2017
This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) eliminate the $200 transfer tax on firearm silencers, and (2) treat any person who acquires or possesses a firearm silencer as meeting any registration or licensing requirements of the National Firearms Act with respect to such silencer. Any person who pays a transfer tax on a silencer after October 22, 2015, may receive a refund of such tax.
The bill amends the federal criminal code to preempt state or local laws that tax or regulate firearm silencers.
Now that’s #gunsense!