Nathan Forest
nforest@uwyo.edu
The biggest news in the gun community lately has been the introduction of the Hearing Protection Act (HPA) to Congress.
The bill is being introduced by Representative Matt Salmon (R-AZ) with the backing of the American Suppressor Association. The legislation aims to remove suppressors or “silencers” from the National Firearms Act (NFA).
The NFA has made it difficult to attain short barrel rifles/shotguns while making machine guns prohibitively expensive. Suppressors are also the only gun accessories regulated by the NFA.
The bill is a fantastic piece of legislation that would make suppressors as easy to buy as a long gun. This is a far cry from the system now where citizens must pay a 200 dollar tax, undergo extensive background checks by the FBI and wait months to obtain permission.
The fact that suppressors are regulated as tightly as they are is quite frankly ridiculous. They are, at their core, safety devices and should be readily available for purchase.
What is the point of regulating an item that makes guns safer, more tightly than regulating guns themselves?
Muzzle brakes afford both flash reduction as well as reduced recoil. Why are these not regulated at all, while a safety device offering all the same features plus noise reduction are practically impossible to obtain?
Contrary to popular belief and Hollywood, suppressors do not make guns into silent whispers that people in the next room won’t hear. They do however reduce muzzle flash, recoil and the report of a rifle by 20-35 decibels.
The bill is being introduced under the Hearing Protection Act name because hearing health is just one of the many benefits that come from suppressors.
While shots fired through a suppressor are still loud, they are not nearly as loud as an unsuppressed firearm. With common ear protection like muffs, in addition to suppressors, exercising our second amendment rights can be a much more enjoyable experience.
Nearly the entire gun community is ecstatic to see the potential for the deregulation of a simple safety device. A resurgence of suppressors could have major effects on permanent ear damage rates common among frequent firearm users.
However, opponents of the bill claim that suppressors will help criminals commit crimes silently and escape into the night. This is an absurd stance due to the fact that suppressed gunshots still definitely sound like gunshots.
There is no logical opposition to the deregulation of suppressors. They were only included in the original NFA of 1934 because of the Great Depression. It was not uncommon in those days for a family to be starving, so a man would go out and possibly poach a deer for food. To help them accomplish this goal, many used suppressors. By tightly regulating suppressors, it made poachers easier to find. Yet today, poaching is rare and there is no reason to regulate suppressors other than the fact that some people find them scary or intimidating.
Suppressors also have incredible practical benefits. If a burglar were to kick down your door, you firing an unsuppressed firearm in a closed space can be a metaphorical death sentence for your ears.
I think that suppressors should be offered to everyone when they buy a gun. It should be just another feature, like colors or flashlights, which can be added on with a small surcharge and be packaged up with your gun.
It is refreshing to see gun legislation come forth that doesn’t involve law-abiding citizens giving up even more of their rights. Instead, it is uplifting to see Congress move to repeal this legislation that no longer makes sense and that was unlawful when it was written.
Gun control advocates are constantly talking about how this country needs more “common sense gun laws,” but I see no law as more “common sense” than allowing people to buy additional safety features for their guns.
