USA – -(Ammoland.com)- My fellow Americans,
Tuesday’s Republican election victory was a tremendous win for our Second Amendment rights and it also marked a significant increase in the potential for the Hearing Protection Act to become law and remove silencers from the NFA registry.
SilencerCo has been and will continue to be a vocal supporter of the HPA and advocate for it to become a priority in the legislative agenda for 2017.
As a member of The Suppressed™, you’ve likely thought to yourself, “Why are silencers still an NFA item?” SilencerCo has not only wondered this ourselves, but along with partners such as the American Suppressor Association, we’ve taken steps to support the introduction of legislation to remove silencers from the list of NFA items.
On October 22, 2015 the Hearing Protection Act was introduced. This piece of legislation is aimed at removing silencers from the NFA and instead having their transfer go through a traditional ATF Form 4473 – the same way you would purchase a standard rifle or pistol.
What does this mean for you?
- No $200 tax stamp
- No excessive wait times
- No NFA trusts
- No fingerprint cards, passport photos, or Chief Law Enforcement Officer notification
- A simple process, just like when you purchase most firearms through your dealer
Even though the House, Senate, and Presidency will be controlled by like-minded advocates for the Second Amendment, bills take time to become laws and citizens should not be taxed for trying to protect their hearing while exercising their Second Amendment rights. Between now and the passage of this bill, we encourage our customers to continue to support the industry and to take advantage of the following provision:
The Hearing Protection Act also includes a provision for all people who purchase a silencer between the time the bill is introduced (October 22, 2015) until the day it passes – should you purchase a silencer during that time, you will receive a $200 tax credit to cover the cost of any new silencer tax stamps you pay for.
This bill was initially championed by Rep. Matt Salmon (R-AZ) as its primary sponsor and since then has had multiple co-sponsors. SilencerCo, Rep. Salmon, and all supporters of the bill realize that this is a long-term effort and will not be something that happens overnight. With the help of people like you – The Suppressed – we will gain momentum and educate both the general public and lawmakers as to the true nature of silencers.
If you haven’t already joined The Suppressed, click HERE to add your voice to the cause and write to your Congressmen and women and Senators to voice your support for the HPA as a legislative priority for 2017.
Sincerely,
Josh Waldron
CEO, SilencerCo
About SilencerCo:
Born and bred in the land of the free, SilencerCo started life when two men in a garage machined, welded, and shaped their dreams into reality. They had one core belief: Guns don’t have to be loud. Now in our eighth year of existence, SilencerCo makes more silencers than anyone else in the market. We set the bar high for quality and innovation because in the end, that’s all that matters.
For more information, please visit www.SilencerCo.com.
It would be nice if it was actually reported that this died. It needs to be reintroduced by someone.
The HPA is more than doable, AOW/SBS/SBR removal from the NFA is also doable and as much as I would like to see a complete repeal of the NFA I don’t believe it would happen.
There needs to be an amendment attached to this Act that also takes SBR’s and SBS’s off the NFA list as well.
no NFA approval needed or Tax Stamp for SBR’s either!
Hiram Percy Maxim invented the suppressor and auto muffler circa 1908. Silencers were added to the NFA 1934 by some unelected bureaucrat. That is 82 years of bad reputation to overcome. Maybe it should be sold as a firearm. Maybe it should be sold as a gun part. The point is, it needs to be taken off the NFA ASAP! I have loss of hearing and tinnitus from decades of LE teaching firearms.
A felon having a suppressor shouldn’t be an Issue. What are they going to do with one if they are prohibited from having a firearm to go with it? Now a firearm with a suppressor attached is very different, and the firearm would trigger prosecution for felon in possession of a firearm. No need for duplication, since a suppressor alone could only be used as an ineffective club or be thrown at someone, when a bat or rock would be a significantly better weapon.
I also agree with Robert. I am already hearing impaired from working in the Printing industry. There is simply NO reasoning behind the current laws and restrictions. Leave it a crime for convicted felons to buy one, OK, but the rest of us law abiding citizens should not be restricted from protecting our hearing. And I’ll repeat what Matt said, this is an add on for hearing protection. Why is it treated any differently than safety glasses or ear plugs?
This is great news, but why should purchasing a suppressor even require form 4473? After all, it’s not a weapon. I say, let’s rid ourselves of such meaningless legislation altogether!
Baby steps Robert. You only need ten yards for a first down. It’s not always wise to throw a hail Mary pass right out of the gate.
I agree with Robert. There is no need unless it’s the only way it will pass. It’s just an add on device like a bipod.