Suppressors for firearms, often called "silencers," don't really silence anything. They just reduce the sound of a gunshot a bit in an effort to protect people's hearing. That's what they were designed for and why people want them.
Now, a bill that reduces the $200 fee to get one is under fire, and for the dumbest of reasons, from one Democrat.
He seems not to realize that people actually want them for lawful purposes:
U.S. Rep. Steven Horsford (D-Nev.) tore into House Republicans over a provision in their new legislation that cuts taxes for those wanting to buy a firearm silencer.
House Republicans unveiled President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” earlier this week that includes tax breaks and massive spending cuts to Medicaid. During a House hearing on the bill this week, Horsford slammed House Republicans for also including a provision to cut the tax on gun silencers to “zero.”
“So like many of you, I can’t say that I’m shocked. I’m disgusted that Republicans would include in their ‘Screw Americans Bill,’ this provision. And I really want to ask: Who asked for this? Was it the assassin lobby? So let me get this straight ... Republicans are cutting health care on 13.7 million Americans, but making silencers cheaper? Make it make sense … cutting the tax to zero. What planet are you even on to propose such a provision?," he said during a House hearing.
“And clearly this was endorsed by the entire Republican caucus. This is something that all of the members are backing. I know most of them are not even here to defend this provision. We’ve got one member who’s spoken on it, and he referred to a 1934 law. So let me get that right: That’s 91 years of existing law that you want to upend in a Republican bill on behalf of the assassin lobby,” he added.
If Horsford wants to know who asked for this, it's me and millions of people just like me. I'd like to have a suppressor on my home defense gun in case I need, God forbid, to shoot at someone breaking into my house in the middle of the night. There's no time for everyone to put on hearing protection, after all, and I'd really like to protect my family even more.
And then there's the fact that referencing any BS "assassin lobby" is asinine.
See, would-be assassins are able to illegally make a suppressor without any concern for the law. We know because we've seen it. Luigi Mangione allegedly built and used a suppressor to kill UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. He didn't need to navigate any hoops or get licenses or anything.
And one of the things many on the right are upset about with this is that this proposal doesn't go far enough. All of the regulations other than the $200 fee remain so that no one is just walking into a store and buying one without any background check or anything.
I happen to think they should be able to, but this budget bill doesn't do that.
Further, the 91 years of the National Firearms Act can and should be upended because, as the Supreme Court's Bruen decision noted, the only valid gun control laws come from the time of the nation's ratification of the Bill of Rights or from the time of incorporation via the 14th Amendment. The NFA doesn't meet that criteria.
But then again, if Democrats weren't being stupid, we wouldn't know what was going on in the world.
