This should be protected under the 2nd Amendment and be just as seamless and hassle free as buying a holster or sight. The government has been sticking its hand out for tax stamps for way too long.
9 Likes
Fully agree. I’ve always been of the opinion that suppressors should be standard equipment for citizens, and so was Teddy Roosevelt. Suppressors do not completely eliminate the sound of a gunshot, they simply reduce the decibels to a safe and reasonable level. For some chamberings, suppressors should probably be required for shooting at public ranges and when hunting.
I’m especially passionate about the hunting applications of suppressors, as I’ve done quite a bit of hunting in my life and cannot count how many times I could have benefited from using a suppressor. When hunting rodents and small fowl, the crack of a successful shot still scatters the remaining specimens all over the woods. Now, a suppressor still creates a significant disturbance, but the disturbances take less time. Also, when hunting in the audible vicinity of private residences, suppressors do a great deal to reduce noise disturbance and prevents incidents of false alarms. Where I grew up, more than one confused homeowner didn’t know it was hunting season and called police about shots fired in the woods behind their home. Suppressors wouldn’t necessarily eliminate things like that but it would surely reduce them.
But suppressors aren’t just good for hunting. (Far be it from me to leave a string for a “2A is for hunting” advocate to grab onto.) They are also very practical for certain self defense applications, and can even enhance a defender’s chances of survival. Specifically in situations where the incident takes place in an enclosed space - home invasions, carjackings, robberies, and domestic violence incidents almost always occur inside enclosed spaces and gunshots can be disorienting enough to a defender that their ability to hit their target is reduced. Firing a handgun with a 4"-5" barrel in a small space where sound will be reflected 360° is equivalent to clacking off a flashbang. Doing the same thing with a suppressor on the defender’s gun can significantly increase their chances of making a threat-stopping hit sooner than later. It’s also worth mentioning that it would reduce the negative impacts on any pets in the home, and the decrease in velocity that often happens with suppression can aid in preventing over-penetration that can jeopardize family members, pets and even neighbors.
The core of the argument against allowing them to be freely purchased and sold without restrictions is based on a bad faith assumption about American citizens - that their only useful purpose would be in concealing criminal acts, and that their only legitimate use was in military applications. This is a cynical and erroneous argument that insists on itself and completely ignores the many benefits of firearm suppression for civilian use.
3 Likes