Don't Fall for the Fiction on Firearm Suppressors

Don't Fall for the Fiction on Firearm Suppressors

Owen Miller

It comes as no surprise that in the aftermath of the tragic murder of United
Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson, there is significant misinformation circulating
via social media that could undermine the rights of millions of law-abiding
citizens.

 The assailant apparently used a homemade, 3-D printed gun and 3-D printed sound
reducing accessory known as a suppressor - some call the device a silencer. If
true, the criminal faces serious charges for his actions. Under federal law, it
is illegal to manufacturer a suppression device without properly registering it
with ATF. Doing so carries a possible 10-year sentence and a $250,000 fine.
Using a suppressor in the commission of a crime is also a federal offense and
carries a mandatory 30-year prison term.

It is also important to understand that no device will ever make a gun
completely silent. Guns are simply too loud. At least one person close to Mr.
Thompson at the time of the crime reported hearing the assailant's gunshots.
Suppressors do not cancel out the sound of a firearm as some activists would
wrongly have you believe. Rather, these legal firearm accessories only reduce
the sound of a gunshot.

Even the most effective suppressors reduce the peak sound level of a gunshot to
around 110 - 120 decibels. To put that in perspective, that is as loud as a
jackhammer (110 dB) or an ambulance siren (120 dB) according to the National
Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).

The National Hearing Conservation Association (NHCA) wrote a letter in 2019
outlining their support for suppressors as a tool to help curb preventable
hearing damage:

"Although firearm suppressors do not completely eliminate the risk of
[noise-induced hearing loss] from firearm noise, the risk can be significantly
reduced.Therefore, NHCA supports the use of firearm noise suppressors as a form
of an engineering noise control to reduce hazardous firearm noise exposures."

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) was commissioned in 2011 to
assess the level of noise exposure for federal government agents at an outdoor
shooting range. The scientists assigned to the study concluded:

"...the only potentially effective noise control method to reduce students' or
instructors' noise exposure from gunfire is through the use of noise suppressors
that can be attached to the end of the gun barrel."

Today, there are nearly four million lawfully obtained suppressors in
circulation and their use has bipartisan support. In 2013, Montana Governor
Steve Bullock (D) held the misconception that suppressors could completely
silence firearms, but once he became properly educated on the issue, he reversed
course and urged the Montana legislature to legalize their use for hunting:

"Suppressors mitigate the sound of a shot, but do not silence it. The use of
suppressors for hunting, when hunters cannot wear ear protection because they
need to be aware of their surroundings, can help protect against hearing loss.
This is especially true for our younger hunters, even those who are not actually
hunting but are accompanying their parent in the field."

Gov. Bullock's change of opinion was not ideological, it was educational.

And the use of suppressors by criminals is virtually nonexistent. Ronald Turk, a
former Associate Deputy Director and Chief Operating Officer of the Bureau of
Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), stated:

"...silencers are very rarely used in criminal shootings. Given the lack of
criminality associated with silencers, it is reasonable to conclude that they
should not be viewed as a threat to public safety."

Furthermore, using a suppressor in the commission of a crime will carry stiff
State and Federal penalties. At the Federal level, using a suppressor in the
commission of a crime carries a 30-year mandatory prison sentence. Very few laws
are more punitive than this.

Suppressors are legally used by millions of hunters and shooting enthusiasts who
rely on these safety devices for much needed hearing protection. Spreading
misinformation or engaging in scare tactics in the wake of this high-profile
crime will do nothing to address the issue of curbing violence in New York City
or elsewhere else in America. This recent tragedy cannot be used to erode the
constitutional rights of millions of law-abiding citizens to own and use their
firearms with the safety features of their choice.

Owen Miller is Vice President of the American Suppressor Association

https://www.realclearpolicy.com/articles/2024/12/12/dont_fall_for_the_fiction_on_firearm_suppressors_1078184.html