From our friends at the American Suppressor Association . . .
On Thursday, March 13th, Senator Tim Sheehy (R-MT), joined by seven colleagues in the Senate, introduced the ASA-supported Protecting Americans’ Right to Silence (PARTS) Act as S. 1039. This bipartisan proposal will reform the outdated definition of “firearm silencer” in the Gun Control Act.
“We applaud Senator Sheehy for standing up for the rights of millions of law-abiding gun owners,” said Knox Williams, president and executive director of the American Suppressor Association. “No one should have to have a law degree to understand the technical serialization requirements for a simple hearing protection device. Senator Sheehy has done gun owners a great service by introducing this bill.”
The PARTS Act is co-sponsored by Senators Mike Lee (R-UT), Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Pete Ricketts (NE), Ted Budd (R-NC), Steve Daines (R-MT), Jim Justice (R-WV), and John Cornyn (R-TX). Representative August Pfluger (R-TX) introduced the companion bill in the House of Representatives.
Background
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- PARTS Act refines the definition of a suppressor, narrowing it to cover complete devices or a single essential component, such as a frame or receiver. This shift eliminates the ambiguity of broader terms that have been used in the past, such as “combination of parts,” which has led to regulatory confusion.
- The PARTS Act eliminates unnecessary paperwork that the ATF requires upon the purchase of consumable suppressor parts, such as wipes. This would be similar to the process during the purchase of other non-serialized firearm components. The PARTS Act will ensure greater access to these parts for legal suppressor owners.
- The bill also addresses and heads off regulatory concerns that were raised in an open letter to the ATF in November 2023, to prevent plans to classify certain suppressor parts as regulated suppressors.
- As suppressor wait times reach historic lows, the PARTS Act will better ensure that the growing popularity of suppressed shooting remains accessible and protected under clear, common-sense regulations.
- This legislation intends to protect access to the market for everyday people while avoiding the regulatory reversals which have historically hurt consumers across industries.
About damn time, in my book.
Stuff like silencer wipes has no business being regulated. Also, I’d love to mess around with making a can quieter by adding more baffles to the stack…
I would guess adding baffles could also reduce volume for the gas to expand to and may become counter productive after a point. Either way hope it passes and you get a chance to play around and find out.
Contrary to popular belief, suppressors do not completely silence firearms; rather they help to mitigate the potentially dangerous noise associated with firearms. Even the most effective suppressors on the smallest calibers reduce the peak sound level of a gunshot to around 110-120 decibel (dB
I’ve fired suppressed handguns, and they were adequately muted to where I was safely able to forego earmuffs. Both 9mm and .22LR were definitely lower than 110 dB. I haven’t fired suppressed long guns.
Does this bill give gun owners the right to purchase a suppressor without paying $200 and filing firms? Something tells me the answer is no.
“Does this bill give gun owners the right to purchase a suppressor without paying $200 and filing firms? Something tells me the answer is no.”
An old Russian military strategy saying comes to mind :
“Don’t let the best be the enemy of the good enough”.
Steps, Truman, steps. They took our rights one bit at a time, and that’s how we get them back.
Steps…
“Steps, Truman, steps. They took our rights one bit at a time, and that’s how we get them back.”
Rights were removed over decades. Should we accept it will take decades more to restore them (all the while, the commies keep taking more rights)?
If needed yes, bigger picture there is more being undone than restricted right now but the faster and longer that can be pushed the better. Otherwise may as well bring back feudalism.
That’s true.
Bah. Humbug!
Nobody needs no stinkin’ suppressor to hunt. All that is needed is a single-shot, bolt action, rifle of sufficient calibre to bring down a polar bear. Gunshots do not harm animals’ hearing. Besides, gunshots scatter herds, allowing most to escape danger; leveling the playing field. Indeed, it should be illegal to trap animals, and then shoot them. Go into the wild with just yourself, and the rifle, like in the olden days. Prove you can hunt without a bag full of hi-tech gadgets to bring back food for the winter. After all, animals can only depend on the tools with which they were created.
It has nothing to do with hunting. It has to do with endangering our hearing. How can people be dead set against a device that provides hearing protection for the shooter and bystanders
“It has to do with endangering our hearing.”
It has to do with criminals silently killing people and getting away, because no one hears the shooting; preventing them from identifying the time and direction of the shots. . . .which always leads to the arrest of the criminal. Just like short barrel rifles and shotguns let criminals conceal their weapons until they blast dozens of innocent people on the street, and get away because the shooters hide their guns after the shooting, and no one notices.
We need everyone to understand that silencers are
1. Are Hearing Protection for everyone from the shooter to the bystanders
2. Not silent. They only bring the noise level down enough to not require hearing protection.
“We need everyone to understand that silencers are
2. Not silent. They only bring the noise level down enough to not require hearing protection.”
If that is the case, I would conclude you are buying/using the wrong type of silencers. Hollywood can do it; recommend you get in touch with some of their armorers and find out which brand they use, especially regarding revolvers.