Suppressors—there is no such thing as a “silencer”—have gained new popularity during the Harris/Biden Administration, no doubt as part of American’s recognition for the need to buy more than a million guns a month for more than 60 consecutive months. Their relative rarity means they’re expensive, and because they’re National Firearms Act listed, obtaining one is far harder than it should be.
One must go through the same process necessary to buy an automatic weapon. Federal paperwork, fingerprinting, background checks, local law enforcement endorsement and a $200-dollar, non-transferrable tax are required. Fortunately, the suppressor industry has responded by handling all the federal paperwork. Obtaining ATF approval used to take up to a year but is now much more rapid. Pay companies like Silencer Central up front, and when the process is complete, they’ll ship a suppressor to your home.
There has been, for years, increasing public demand for delisting suppressors, which do not “silence” gunshots, but merely reduce the decibel level to the point of not damaging hearing. A suppressed gunshot still sounds like a gunshot, just with a different timbre. Because they essentially double the length of a handgun, suppressors are virtually never used by criminals. One exception was the recent assassination of a health care CEO in New York City.
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Graphic: NYPD. Public Domain.
The media, gun illiterate as always, are claiming the shooter must have been a professional. The facts suggest otherwise. He fired three shots, but apparently was unaware his suppressor would keep the action from cycling, requiring him to manually cycle it after every shot. Suppressors control the expanding gas produced in firing, which reduces the pressure necessary to properly cycle a gun. If media accounts are correct, the killer left three expended cases and three live rounds at the scene, meaning he not only manually extracted the expended brass, but three lives rounds as well (he could have just dropped them for some inexplicable reason), not a sign of professional competence. What’s also interesting is at least one eyewitness heard three gunshots. So much for the Hollywood portrayal of silencers.
With the incoming Trump administration, it is at least possible Republicans might be able to delist suppressors, though that remains an iffy proposition. If it’s going to happen, it’s going to have to be done soon after January 20, hopefully in an avalanche of other pro-liberty legislation, including national concealed carry reciprocity.
Democrats/socialists/communists (D/s/cs) are all about trusting “the science.” Now the science is in favor of suppressors:
In a time when so much medical “science” seems to be politically manipulated to make an argument against gun ownership and the Second Amendment in the United States, Stephen Gutowski of The Reload reports at least one medical group has looked at the science and come out with an endorsement that if allowed to influence the rationale of legislation, would improve the health and hearing of hundreds of thousands of Americans. The American Academy of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery (AAO-HNS), representing over 13,000 ear, nose and throat specialists, issued a position statement this month supporting the use of suppressors, often called silencers, in reducing harmful noise levels from firearms. It is their official stance that firearm suppressors are an effective tool for preventing hearing loss.
The Academy’s statement, issued November 18, 2024, is succinct:
Sound suppressors are mechanical devices attached to the barrel of a firearm designed to reduce harmful impulse noise of firearms at its source. CDC research has shown that “The only potentially effective noise control method to reduce [shooters’] noise exposure from gunfire is through the use of noise suppressors that can be attached to the end of the gun barrel.”1 Suppressors reduce muzzle blast noise by up to 30 dB.2 Their benefit is additive when used with ear-level hearing protection devices such as circumaural muffs or ear plugs.3 The American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery endorses the use of firearm suppressors as an effective method of reducing the risk of hearing loss, especially when used in conjunction with conventional hearing protective measures.
One of the long-time, ironic, jokes among shooters is one sees a lot of viral deaf guys at ranges. Suppressors can all but eliminate that consequence of unprotected exposure to gunfire. As the Academy has now affirmed, they’re a vital matter of health care, as people with hearing loss are prone to a variety of other health deficits.
The last time Donald Trump was in office and Republicans held the House and Senate, Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell ensured Republicans did nothing on suppressors. They claimed the time wasn’t right. Perhaps this time around, with neither of them in a position to stall legislation, the time will be right. After all, we have to trust the science, don’t we?
Mike McDaniel is a USAF veteran, classically trained musician, Japanese and European fencer, life-long athlete, firearm instructor, retired police officer and high school and college English teacher. He is a published author and blogger. His home blog is Stately McDaniel Manor.
This article was originally published at www.americanthinker.com
