Dozens Of Organizations Sign Letter Urging Suppressor Deregulation In Reconciliation Bill

Nearly 40 pro-gun and hearing-focused organizations, led by the American Suppressor Association (ASA), signed a letter to U.S. Senate and House leaders urging them to keep suppressor deregulation language, passed by the House in the “One Big, Beautiful Bill,” in the reconciliation bill to come.

The letter, sent to U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, was signed by dozens of industry representatives, medical professionals and Second Amendment groups, including the National Rifle Association (NRA) and Gun Owners of America (GOA) and encourages the House and Senate to keep Section 2 of the Hearing Protection Act, which would remove suppressors from the NFA, in the reconciliation bill.

“The National Firearms Act of 1934 (NFA) is an unconstitutional tax scheme that impedes the ability of all Americans to exercise their Second Amendment rights,” the letter states.  “Justified by Congress as a revenue generating measure, the NFA was enacted prior to Wickard v. Filburn, the landmark case that significantly expanded the scope of the Commerce Clause. In 1937, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the NFA as a revenue generating measure in Sonzinsky v. US. On behalf of the American Suppressor Association and law-abiding gun owners nationwide, we call on Congress to permanently remove suppressors from the unconstitutional NFA tax scheme by inserting Section 2 of the Hearing Protection Act into the reconciliation bill.”

As the letter explains, no tool can make a gunshot silent. Also mislabeled as silencers, suppressors simply reduce the dangerously loud noise of a gunshot to safer levels.

In fact, according to the National Hearing Conservation Association (NHCA):  “Persons wearing conventional hearing protection are not without risk of NIHL [Noise Induced Hearing Loss] when using firearms. The noise reduction of hearing protection devices varies considerably across users and may provide significantly less protection from noise than the labeled noise reduction rating (NRR) suggests. The National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has recommended the NRR of conventional hearing protection be derated by 25% for earmuffs, 50% for formable earplugs, and 70% for all other earplugs to correspond to existing real- world data. NIOSH research has demonstrated that as many as 50% of persons using earplugs fail to achieve 25 dB of noise reduction for their ear plugs. However, using conventional hearing protection in conjunction with a suppressor can significantly reduce the risk of NIHL more than using either device alone.”

Ultimately, the organizations signing the letter simply believe that lawful Americans shouldn’t be taxed for wanting to protect their hearing with a proven safety device.

“Americans should not be taxed for a safety device that helps prevent irreversible damage to one of their senses while exercising their Constitutional rights,” the letter concluded. “It would be ludicrous if elected officials demonized and regulated automobile mufflers like they do suppressors. Suppressors use the same science as mufflers, which should come as no surprise considering the muffler was invented by the same man who invented the firearm suppressor. Like car mufflers, suppressors are designed to protect hearing, reduce noise pollution, and help us all be good stewards of the environment.

“Scare tactics, misinformation, and preservation of the status quo must not be impediments to restoring common sense to our nation’s approach to the Second Amendment.”