silencerco suppressor silencer
Courtesy SilencerCo
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By Larry Keane

Prospects for any sort of pro-gun bill moving in Congress are dim, but that doesn’t mean Congress shouldn’t try, especially when it’s a bill to make recreational shooting and hunting safer and make gun ranges better neighbors. That’s why NSSF is urging Congress to consider the Hearing Protection Act, H.R. 95.

It’s an uphill struggle for the HPA as Hollywood and detractors propel a misunderstanding of suppressors. An examination of the facts is helpful as suppressors are already used and increase safety when using a firearm.

Senate Disinformation

U.S. Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) and Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) have already erected roadblocks on streamlining suppressor regulations. Both severely miss the mark when discussing the hardware though. Sen. Gillibrand, staunchly antigun, tweeted in opposition to the 2017 version of the HPA, saying gunfire with suppressors “is quiet,” making it hard for the witnesses of crimes to hear criminal activity.

Sen. Menendez went further, introducing legislation in 2019 to ban the sale, import, manufacture or transfer of suppressors. Sen. Menedez said of his bill, “The sound of gunshots is what tells you that your life is danger, and that it’s time to run, hide, take cover, call the police and help others save themselves.”

Both couldn’t be more mistaken.

Suppressor Facts

Detractors vilify “silencers” for fear of what they’ve seen in fiction movies. They believe they’re completely quiet, magically making gunfire a quiet “pffft.” These are Hollywood myths.

Jeremy S. for TTAG

Suppressors are attached to the end of a firearm barrel and use a series of baffles to redirect the expanding gases from the barrel, reducing noise. Think of a car’s muffler. Hardly silent, suppressors reduce the noise from a firearm report down to about 130 decibels – around the same noise level as a motorcycle, chain saw or jack hammer. That decrease in noise dramatically makes it safer while hunting and during recreational shooting, protecting the shooter’s hearing as well as any surrounding or nearby participants too.

Suppressors are already common – and growing. In fact by current estimates there are over 1.5 million already registered in the United States and they’re legal to own and use in 42 states, including 40 states that allow them for hunting.

It’s just the process to purchase the accessory is cumbersome and lengthy. Suppressors are still listed on the 1934 National Firearms Act (NFA) along with machine guns, requiring an extra $200 tax stamp and extensive registration paperwork, submission of photos and fingerprints, chief law enforcement officer notification and duplicative background checks. When things are moving smoothly, it’s about a nine-month process to finally take possession of a suppressor.

SilencerCo suppressors
Dan Z for TTAG

Congressman Duncan’s Hearing Protection Act would delist suppressors from the NFA and allow them to be purchased and transferred the same way a firearm is purchased at retail. They would be regulated with the same markings (including serial number), record keeping and FBI National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) check that is required for a retail firearm purchase.

Congressional Prospects

Admittedly, prospects for any pro-gun legislation moving in this Congress or being signed by President-elect Joe Biden is dim at best. However, this is common-sense gun safety. This is a measure that will make for better neighbors for those living near gun ranges. European countries with very strict gun control laws actually require suppressors to be used for these very reasons. In some of those countries, they’re available for open purchase at hardware stores.

It’s time to hear the facts. Suppressors reduce noise, reduce recoil and make recreational shooting and hunting safer.

 

Larry Keane is SVP for Government and Public Affairs, Assistant Secretary and General Counsel of the National Shooting Sports Foundation.

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66 COMMENTS

  1. Yeah, right. Like that’s gonna happen.

    Leftists paranoid about the political right having free access to the tools that could be used against them?

      • What’s the matter, widdle troll?

        We’re all laughing at you behind your back… 🙂

        • “Dammit i want a troll to lick my shoes too!”

          Easy-peasy.

          Every time it pops up its head, kick it square in the teeth, as hard as you can.

          Get creative with the insults. Explore the environment.

          And have *fun* doing it!.. 🙂

        • Oh yes. Geoff the Goof is a troll destroying legend…in his own small, age enfeebled mind. Seriously that fool is such a 🤡 !

        • “Oh yes. Geoff the Goof is a troll destroying legend…”

          A pretty good record so far, boy.

          From long before you arrived, to long after you’re gone.

          And that’s what pisses you off the most… 🙂

        • “… what’d you do to piss that feller off?”

          I *think* it may be who used to post here as P g 2.

          We had a problem with him pushing anti-vaxx crapola. Just would not shut the fuck up about it. We all go a bit off-topic here on some things, in TTAG, but that jerk-off only posted about that crap.

          So I started hammering him on it, and kept the beat-down on him until Dan Z. laid down the law telling him to knock that shit off.

          And that’s how I earned his affections… 🙂

  2. There are three political parties in this country. The R, D, and L. Show me which one has publicly made speeches about the HPA???

    • The L’s.

      It was a pretty big part of the state rep whose campaign I worked on. We even did a range day to demo suppressors.

      Didn’t see any Rs there. Or the NRA. Or you.

      • I was not invited. And I didn’t hear or see any statements. You seem to send messages inside your echo chamber a great deal. Its your responsibility to get the word out. That is the problem with the “gun Community”. This site, TTAG, should have been “atom bombed” with messages about your demonstrations. Was it? Did you message Mr. Dan Zimmerman? Or someone else at TTAG?

  3. Your just wasting bandwidth. If this bill couldn’t be passed with the GOP controlling the both the House and the Senate, it’s not going to ever happen.

        • “A dead attacker doesn’t remark about how loud the muzzle report was.”

          Well, the corpse can prove if it was a muzzle contact wound… 🙂

    • I remember when Dead Air had the Sandman K HPA special price, good until HPA gets voted on or something like that… It seemed almost possible at that time but those were different times.

  4. The facts do not matter to the gun banners. Their thinking cannot be corrected even with a live demonstration. This bill will pass only on a cold day in Hell.

  5. The election may still be overturned if we can just get big case to the Supreme Court.
    What are you smokin’ bro ?

    • The Supreme Court will not take any case regarding the election. Even if it did, do you trust a clown like Roberts to give the case a chance?

      • Actually, yes it did. The problem is that it set the hearing date after Jan 20, to make the complaint ultimately void for mootness. See how that works?

        Roberts is a traitor and dishonors the robe. I wonder why so little has been said about the photos of him with the organizers of Epstein’s Fantasy Island.

  6. Slimeball Mitch wouldn’t let it come to a vote when we had both houses.

    This is technically a simple Tax and Revenue bill, and thus not subject to the Filibuster. That’s the loophole the Left used to pass Obamacare with a bare majority. So only 51 votes were needed in the Senate.

  7. “Prospects for any sort of pro-gun bill moving in Congress are dim, but that doesn’t mean Congress shouldn’t try..”

    It actually does mean that. It’s not dim, it’s impossible. It’s just a bit of misdirection so slimy politicians can convince rubes to keep voting for them even though they do nothing for those votes but put their name on a piece of paper that will never do anything.

    Oh, and fundraising.

        • “When it’s done with your shoes can it wax my car?”

          Look, I’m not claiming exclusive ownership of the little fuckwit.

          Anyone and everyone is free to use him as a fun punch-toy any time they wish.

          Bonus points for creativity! 😉

      • Geoff,

        I dunno, sport, seems like you may be misgendering the little troll . . . it seems to project a lot of estrogen, and VERY little testosterone. I think it’s an “it”, or maybe a “trans” (not that there’s anything wrong with that!).

        Tell us LOLGOOF, are you a womyn, or gay, or trans, or just a pathetic soiboi???

  8. They would not pass this when the Republicans controlled all three branches. What makes anyone think this will go anywhere now? There is a much higher likelihood of silencers being completely outlawed in this country.

  9. Common sense is quite uncommon, particularly in Congress. I like the proposal, but agree it is unlikely to see any forward progress.

  10. UNLIKE what is usually described as “common sense legislation”, removing the ridiculous federal restrictions on firearm mufflers would be COMMON SENSE LEGISLATION!

      • Not really. When they take the guns, we won’t need suppressors except for out cars and trucks. And when those are all electric, we won’t need them for that either. So you see, it is really just a bunch of pols being “efficient” by not passing unneeded legislation.

  11. As I recall Speaker Paul Ryan made sure this legislation went no where near a vote during Donald Trump’s first 2 years in office. Gotta luv a RINO.

    • Spot on.
      And to top it off Trump did not repeal any of the currently existing ant-gun EO’s.
      Wouldn’t it have been nice to have 4 years of feasting on various east european and russian guns and ammo.
      He couldn’t even throw us that bone.

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