I last wrote about suppressors in December of 2024 in Suppressors: trust the science. The point, then and now, is suppressors are essential to preserving hearing. Without her hearing aids, my wife is essentially deaf, so I’ve had a lifetime to learn about the negative effects of hearing loss, effects that go far beyond not being able to hear. That alone should be more than enough to delist suppressors, to remove them from the National Firearms Act that requires all manner of Federal paperwork, fingerprints, photographs, records checks, the payment of a $200 dollar, non-transferrable tax and government permission to exercise an express, unalienable right.

Graphic: H&K MP5SD6, Author

As I noted in December, the science is on the side of liberty:

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.

Graphic: NRA ILA

Suppressors reduce the report of firearms by up to 30db, which is a huge reduction, big enough to preserve hearing. It must also be remembered that suppressors are not at all like what’s depicted in the movies. They don’t eliminate the sound of gunfire, merely reduce it to non-damaging levels.  Suppressed gunshots merely have a different timbre but are still recognizable as gunshots. There are a few designs, which when used with subsonic ammunition, are very quiet, but that’s not what 99.9% of Americans want or use.

With Donald Trump’s return to office, national concealed carry reciprocity is once again a possibility, and so it seems, is delisting suppressors:

The Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms applauds Congressman Ben Cline (R-Virginia) for introducing H.R. 404, the Hearing Protection Act, and is encouraging the nation’s gun owners to support this timely legislation.

The Hearing Protection Act would amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to remove suppressors from the definition of firearms, according to the bill, and from regulation under the 1934 National Firearms Act (NFA). 

“Similar legislation has been proposed in the past,” noted CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb, “and it is time for this important measure to become law. For generations, untold millions of Americans enjoying their constitutionally-protected right to own and use firearms for recreation, competition, personal protection training and other endeavors have often risked their sense of hearing, even when using ear plugs or other protective devices.

As I’ve previously written, even when Republicans had control of both houses of Congress and the Presidency, Republican “leaders” wouldn’t allow delisting suppressors to come to a vote. “The time isn’t right,” they solemnly intoned. Hopefully Republican leaders understand there will never be a better time, and if they don’t act, the public is in the mood to ensure they have new and exciting employment opportunities at the next election.

Democrats/socialists/communists (D/s/cs) will trot out the usual, hysterical reasons why suppressors ought to be absolutely banned, or at least made hard to get, but they, led by Colorado, want to ban pretty much every semiautomatic firearm, so no sane American can take them seriously.

Suppressors on rifles for hunting, target shooting, competition and home defense have obvious utility. The same is true for handguns, and no, suppressors aren’t commonly used in crimes. They’re expensive and double the length of handguns, the overwhelming choice of criminals. The length and clumsiness of suppressed handguns explains why they’re virtually never used by criminals.

But what about the hunky assassin who killed United Health Care CEO Brian Thompson? Didn’t he use a suppressor? Yes, he did, and we still have no idea where he got it. We do know witnesses heard three distinct gunshots. They didn’t say “suppressed gunshots,” just gunshots. His use of a suppressor is noteworthy not because they’re so common, but because they’re uncommon.

Companies like Silencer Central make buying suppressors relatively easy, though expensive. Prices range from around $600 to well over $1000 dollars. Their essential service is handling all the federal paperwork, and if one is fortunate, their chosen suppressor will be delivered to their doorstep within a few months, though the process, which is at the ATF’s whim, can take up to a year.

Delisting suppressors will not only provide health benefits—aren’t D/s/cs all about that?—but will surely greatly reduce suppressor prices. Even if we believed D/s/c false assertions that no longer treating suppressors like machineguns would ensure millions of criminals had them, isn’t that a compelling reason to ensure law-abiding Americans have them as well? The same is true of automatic weapons. They’re virtually never used in crimes, but criminals can get them. Should the law-abiding be less well armed?

Concealed carry reciprocity, freely available suppressors. First things first. Restoring all of American’s Second Amendment rights next. The time frame may be narrow. Perhaps it’s time to let our representatives know—politely—we’re serious about restoring essential liberties.

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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.