What, in your mind, is the purpose of attaching a silencer to the barrel of a gun? Unless, of course, you are a sniper or James Bond. Think about how much more successful the Aurora, Sandy Hook and both Ft Hood shooters would have been if they had been able to add silencers to their weapons of choice. Think about how much longer it would have taken victims of these mass shootings even to know someone was trying to kill them or how much longer it would have taken to discover the murders and notify authorities. Still there is one group of fanatics that believes there should be no regulation of silencers on guns. Oh sure they still make a sound… a little poof… hardly the kind of threatening sound that would send potential victims diving for cover.
“It should surprise no one that the NRA has recently thrown its weight behind an industry campaign to deregulate and promote the use of silencers. Under the trade banner of the American Silencer Association, manufacturers have come together with the support of the NRA to rebrand the silencer as a safety device belonging in every all-American gun closet. To nurture this potentially large and untapped market, the ASA [in April of 2012] sponsored the first annual all-silencer gun shoot and trade show in Dallas. America’s silencer makers are each doing their part. SWR Suppressors is asking survivalists to send a picture of their ‘bugout bag’ for a chance to win an assault rifle silencer. The firm Silencero — “We Dig Suppressors and What They Do” — has put together a helpful ‘Silencers Are Legal’ website and produced a series of would-be viral videos…” Salon.com, December 309, 2012.
With permits and detailed background checks, the federal government and 39 states do allow people to use silencers. The NRA just wants them to be legal without more. They have moved in on Iowa to press their point. Posted on the NRA Website (February 20th): “NRA-supported House File 384, authored by state Representative Matt Windschitl (R-17), passed in the House Judiciary Committee [February 19th] by a strong, bipartisan 17-4 vote. HF 384 would legalize the ownership of firearm sound suppressors, also referred to as ‘silencers,’ in Iowa. Your NRA has been working with both chambers of the state legislature to enact a bill this session to make this improvement for firearm owners, shooters and sportsmen. The passage of HF 384 in the House Judiciary Committee is a step forward for Iowans, but this legislation will need your support as it moves to the House floor for consideration, which could occur as soon as next week. Please contact your state Representative and encourage him or her to SUPPORT House File 384.”
Why are silencers good for us? The NRA Website explains: “There are numerous benefits associated with the use of suppressors, including increased accuracy due to reduced recoil and muzzle blast, protection from hearing damage and reduced noise pollution. Noise complaints are being used more frequently as an excuse to close shooting ranges, informal shooting areas and hunting lands throughout the country. Increased use of suppressors will help to eliminate many of these complaints and protect hunting and shooting areas well into the future. Suppressors are an effective means of reducing hearing loss among shooters. The facts are clear. Iowans deserve the freedom to choose and use these beneficial safety devices.”
I’m thinking that at every shooting range I have ever been to, folks wear ear plugs or headphones to deaden the sound. Noise pollution? From mass slayings? I don’t know about you, but if some maniac out there wants to start shooting, the last thing I want is for that killer to be able to murder without drawing much attention. It’s bad enough that the NRA has managed to pass legislation everywhere in the U.S. to keep government from keeping gun homicide statistics, but now they want to aid murders to avoid detection.
Iowa’s house passed the silencer bill 82-16 on February 27th. The bill is now pending before the State Senate. I wonder exactly how NRA bigwigs are going to explain themselves on Judgment Day… or perhaps they have already pacted for special treatment in that “other place.” The user of silencers outside of military and police applications is illegal in just about every other nation in the world… in many, using such suppressors is a serious felony. Apparently, most of the legislators on earth are not as stupid as those in office in Iowa’s House. And exactly what would happen if the bill passes and is not preempted by federal law? Would we caravans of gang-bangers, over-armed militias and criminal dealers driving to Iowa to buy truckloads of silencers for illicit resale in the rest of the country? And remember, NRA adherents, “guns don’t kill people, people kill people”… and of course giving people addition means to kill and avoid detection won’t kill people either!!!
I’m Peter Dekom, and have these legislators simply lost their minds?
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