Block Silencer Deregulation
Block Silencer Deregulation
What does this solve?
Silencers pose a significant danger in the wrong hands. They make it harder for bystanders or law enforcement to identify and react quickly to gunshots. Efforts to deregulate silencers should be blocked.
In an active shooter situation, for example, hearing and recognizing a gunshot can be a matter of life and death.1Phil McCausland, “Virginia Beach Shooter Killed 12 Using Silencer and High–Capacity Magazine. Now, Lawmakers Might Look at Both,” NBC News, June 4, 2019, https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/virginia-beach-shooter-killed-12-using-silencer-high-capacity-magazine-n1012771. But the gun lobby routinely chooses profits over safety by pushing radical policies that would make it easy for people with dangerous histories to obtain silencers. The gun lobby’s spin focuses on protecting shooters’ hearing, but silencers are not the most effective or the safest way to do so.
Myth & Fact
Myth
The gun lobby pushes silencer deregulation to protect hunters’ hearing.
Fact
Silencers are not a “hearing protection” issue. The gun lobby claims their efforts are intended to protect hunters’ hearing, but silencers are not the most effective or the safest way to do so. It’s not public health that would benefit from this policy, it’s the silencer market—one of the fastest-growing sectors within the firearm industry.
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Block Silencer Deregulation
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The Smoking Gun
An online resource committed to exposing the gun industry’s role in our gun violence epidemic today.
Everytown Research & PolicyThe SHARE Act Is Dangerous and Unnecessary
Bottom Line: Silencers pose a significant danger in the wrong hands, making it harder for bystanders or law enforcement to identify and react quickly to…
Fact Sheet