Gun grabbers have classified guns as a public health issue for far too long, and this argument is about to backfire on them. For years now, the deregulation of silencers, or “suppressors,” has been shot down over and over again by gun control freaks in Congress, but this is likely to change—all in the name of public health.
Rep. Jeff Duncan (SC-03) along with Rep. John Carter (TX-31) have introduced a bill called the Hearing Protection Act, which moves to eliminate a $200 tax and nine-month approval process on suppressors. Guns are loud, and these legislators are trying to spare some ears from permanent damage.
According to CNN Money, the federal government started restricting them in 1934 with the National Firearms Act, aimed at controlling gang violence. As gang violence continues to rise in today’s world, the legislation was clearly unsuccessful.
Current regulations are supposedly meant to keep suppressors out of the hands of criminals, but criminals, for the most part, do not even use suppressors. They can’t afford them, they are cumbersome to carry, and they don’t actually make gunshots silent.
For those who have watched too many James Bond or “Bourne” movies, and believe silencers actually “silence” guns, here’s a bit of perspective:
Your eardrum ruptures at about 150 decibels.
An unsuppressed AR-15 is about 165 decibels, and a suppressor will reduce that by about 30-35 decibels, to about 125 or 130. An unsuppressed shotgun sounds off at about 145-165 decibels, and a suppressor can bring it down to about 137 decibels. Meanwhile, a suppressed pistol is about 125db.
Many online sources state that the threshold for pain is about 120db, and that a nearby jackhammer rates at 130db, so how can anyone argue that a silencer actually enables criminals to get away with gun violence? Unless you’ve attended one too many rock concerts or lost your hearing aids at church, you’re going to hear the blast whether you try to or not.
As the bill’s sponsors argue, “The Duncan-Carter Hearing Protection Act is common sense legislation that increases safety while shooting, allowing people to easily hear and react to range safety officers and fellow hunters…Suppressors do not make guns silent or dangerous, they are simply a form of hearing protection, both for the shooter and their hunting dogs.”
Moreover, in terms of self-defense, there’s simply not enough time to put headphones on before you fire, which makes suppressors a valuable tool when you are being attacked.
While gun grabbers claim to stand for public safety, all they are really doing is infringing on the health and safety of gun owners because they hate guns. Those who have resisted previous efforts to deregulate suppressors are conscientiously doing nothing more than punishing law-abiding gun owners and enthusiasts.
It’s their petty way of flipping the bird to the large, gun-toting population of American citizens.
With President-Elect Donald Trump taking office on January 20, this common sense bill actually stands a chance, and critics have no viable argument against it. If public health is such a critical priority for gun grabbers, then they should put their money where their mouths are and make this a bipartisan effort.
The views and opinions expressed in this post are those of the author’s and do not necessarily reflect the position of Guns.com.
