Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) introduced the Silencers Helping Us Save Hearing (SHUSH) Act yesterday, a legislative proposal aimed at reducing federal regulation of firearm suppressors. The bill is designed to simplify the purchase process for law-abiding citizens and eliminate bureaucratic hurdles. Senate cosponsors include Senators Rick Scott (R-FL), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), and John Cornyn (R-TX).
“Suppressors are safety accessories, and their purchase should not be subject to antiquated federal controls,” said Lee. “This bill is about making it easier for responsible gun owners to protect their hearing and safety while enjoying their Second Amendment right.”
The SHUSH Act has garnered support from most gun rights organizations, including the National Association for Gun Rights (NAGR), Gun Owners of America (GOA), the National Rifle Association (NRA) and the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF).
Hunter King, director of political affairs at NAGR, expressed strong support for the bill.
“Suppressors are accessories and should be treated just like magazines, scopes or gun stocks. Treating an accessory the same as a gun sets a bad precedent for anti-gun legislators to further regulate other accessories in the future. There’s no reason they should be subjected to the Brady registration scheme. We’re happy and privileged to be able to work with Sen. Lee on this legislation,” King said.
Aidan Johnston, director of government affairs for GOA, praised the SHUSH Act.
“Gun Owners of America applauds the introduction of the Silencers Helping Us Save Hearing Act. The SHUSH Act would not only remove suppressors from the federal regulations of the National Firearms Act but also treat suppressors as any other firearm accessory – free from the infringing background check process. Senator Lee’s bill will not only benefit hunters and sport shooters but also take much-needed steps for gun owners to restore the rights protected by the Second Amendment,” he said.
Lawrence “Larry” G. Keane, senior VP and general counsel for the NSSF, emphasized the safety benefits of suppressors.
“Suppressors are nothing more than a muffler for a firearm. They reduce the noise level from that which can cause instant and permanent hearing loss to a safe level,” Keane explained. “These devices are increasingly popular and legal to possess in forty-two states and legal for hunting in forty-one states. Senator Mike Lee, with the SHUSH Act, demonstrates a strong commitment to Second Amendment rights and leadership in cutting unnecessary government regulations for a firearm safety device.”
Suppressors, for the uninitiated, are also commonly known as silencers. They are nonlethal firearm accessories widely used by hunters, sportsmen and marksmen to enhance safety by reducing noise, recoil and muzzle blast. Despite popular misconceptions, they do not completely silence firearms and they are not the exclusive tools of assassins.
Currently, acquiring a suppressor involves a complex procedure through the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), including extensive paperwork, law enforcement certification, fingerprinting, and a $200 tax. Approval for tax stamps were running on average 9 to 12 months until this past year, when ATF improved the automated process, which can now often be done in just a few days, according to Silencer Shop, a major suppressor retailer in the United States. It’s still a major hassle for many shooters and definitely an unnecessary expense.
The SHUSH Act aims to eliminate federal regulation of suppressors under the National Firearms Act (NFA) and the Gun Control Act (GCA), remove existing taxes and registration requirements and allow current or retired law enforcement officers to carry concealed firearms with suppressors. It also seeks to preempt state regulations on suppressor manufacture, transfer, transport or possession, strike mandatory minimum sentences for suppressor possession and exempt suppressors from Consumer Product Safety Commission regulations. Additionally, the bill includes a provision for a refund of the $200 transfer tax for anyone who purchased a suppressor within two years prior to the enactment of the bill.
If passed, the SHUSH Act will complement the Hearing Protection Act (HPA). The HPA, reintroduced by Senator Mike Crapo (R-ID) in February 2023 and supported by 25 Senate colleagues, seeks to reclassify suppressors to regulate them like regular firearms. This measure aims to provide better access to hearing protection for recreational gun users. According to Senator Crapo, “The Hearing Protection Act will benefit sportswomen and men by ensuring they have access to adequate hearing protection while hunting and participating in other recreational shooting sports.” The HPA removes suppressors from the NFA’s stringent regulations, replacing them with the same background check process used for rifles and shotguns.
Venezuela Gun Control CAUSES Crime+Tyranny!!! Evidence, Statistics, LEARN THE LESSON.
Cans are like concealed carry permits where a right is taken from the citizenry and sold back to them. In other words until a can is a choice it’s no can do.
Yet you will still fill out the 4473 and pay Pittman Robertson even for ammo. How long have you been missing your nose?
This is a bill I can say…HEAR….HEAR….for.
Bullshirt posturing! If it had a chance it should have been filed 18 months ago so it could work through the system or amended into some hideous omnibus bill. I expect more of Senator Mike Lee. And less from Cornyn…
How old are you? I recall several recent Hearing Protection Acts being submitted in Congress — 2017, 2021, 2022, 2023 and now in 2024. I hope this last one goes through as I could use the $$$ I spent on tax stamps in the last year or so. Cornyn sucks.
Hopefully we have a better senate+house layout this time for the law.
Me too. I’d be happy not to lose any of the rights we already have.
I know I will see a bunch lost before anything gets better but that is just the nature of having a democrat dominated state legislature and slow court system at the circuit level. You should be able to expand a bit locally with or without the courts though.
Absent an unexpected swing in the Senate to 60 Republicans (enough to invoke cloture) the bill is DOA. The Democrats will undoubtedly filibuster the bill.
Unless we have an absolute landslide republican victory with 60 non-RINO seats it will be dead on arrival.
Don’t get your hopes up. Democrat Ballot Harvest Scams can generate enough votes to quash any GOP landslide.
And most folks vote for their incumbent representative or senator out of habit, regardless of political views. Smurffs aren’t very smart.
Who said anything about getting hopes up regarding elections? I am well aware NY liberty is either courtroom or worse and look up the democrat machine re Albany. We have been rigging longer than you (or anyone really) has been alive. As to national elections yeah the Senate is my main worry.
Please remove me from email distribution.
What Democrat senators will vote for this? Need 3/5 of the Senate to vote for this, right? So 60 senators?
It depends. A simple majority can pass most bills until Der Schumer declares that it needs 60 or 75 to pass.
AH…..I see. Then we need a majority in the Senate for this to have any shot at passing.
Even if it passes both houses, I’ll bet Biden doesn’t sign unless it’s bundled with something else his team wants 😕
(Pennsylvania) Carry Permit Found Unconstitutional.
In a big win for gun owners, a court has found that the requirement of a carry permit is unconstitutional. The Armed Attorneys Richard Hayes and Emily Taylor discuss the decision and the potential implication of carry permits being found unconstitutional nationwide.
This bill will never make it out of committee much less pass a floor vote in the U.S. House of Representatives. And it sure as Hell will never pass in the U.S. Senate. Of course Biden would veto it faster than a mongoose would jump out of a hot frying pan.
On the other hand, since I just submitted electronic filings for two suppressors about a week ago, it would be my luck that this bill becomes law two years and one day after I paid my $200 tax stamps–that extra day putting me over the edge to no longer qualify for my tax stamp refunds.
I understand the sentiment!
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Unfortunately this bill will no where, this is the usual thing from Republicans…. the NFA (all of it) needs to go along with the Hughs amendment, America machine guns are your birthright.
It’s funny how these bills get proposed when there’s no chance of them seeing the light of day isn’t it? Lets go uniparty.
Yeah that’s going to be an issue even with a full Trump victory. But good luck convincing a large plurality of people on the existence of a uniparty let alone many of their political figures being involved. Look how hard it is to get people to figure out the council on foreign relations or the federal reserve may be issues.
Bill To Remove Silencers From NFA!!! Will It Finally Happen?!?
If they were deregulated I’d probably buy a couple.
Man I shot a rifle with one for the first time the other day. And I have to say, it was such a different experience. It’s like I was shooting an air rifle or something. I’m hooked now.
I have little hope that it will pass, but it so should. The fact that they are on some insane restricted list because a bunch of politicians saw scary movies in the 20’s is just ridiculous.
This might be a smart proposal right now. Let Kamala’s future “moderate” VP pick vote against it. No matter how normal they sound, at the end of the day, they’re all the same. They’re even against hearing protection, if it has anything to do with guns.
Not only simplify the process, but it would also bring down the price AND open the door for those who can (and do) build their own suppressors… Now how about taking on SBRs and Sawed offs… of course there is not a snowballs chance of getting it through the current body or signed by Bribem…
It’s ironic how over in Europe – not the friendliest place for firearms, suppressors are not only permitted, they’re expected.
There is the sell technique. The progs do LOVE them some Euro so it the Eurowussies do it….
This should have been passed in the first year of Trump 45. Not pleased he/we failed to get more done when we had a majority.
A majority is not enough. If a filibuster is brought, as it was during the Trump administration, you need 60 votes to invoke cloture (i.e., stop the filibuster and get the bill to a floor vote where 51 votes passes a bill). As I recall, Trump or whoever could only get 55 or 56, and that was then end of that. Never got to the floor.
By the way, did anyone notice the (willful) ignorance of FBI director Wray when he stated that the collapsible stock on the assassin’s AR made it easier to conceal. Must cut the overall length by half! And then other people in the news – including Fox – repeated it as though it must be gospel without doing any real checking. Our media is lazy and ignorant when not outright lying. Journalists used to take pride in taking politicians to task and exposing government lies and deception. Not no more.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Mockingbird
https://foreignpolicy.com/2013/07/14/u-s-repeals-propaganda-ban-spreads-government-made-news-to-americans/
https://www.businessinsider.com/ndaa-legalizes-propaganda-2012-5?op=1
Read read again then remember this is the part that was declassified and that the PATRIOT act is still in place. Enjoy.
Other post pending moderation for links but start with operation mockingbird and Smith-Mundt Act of 1948 and it’s status.
I am all for deregulation of suppressors.
I am also all for enhanced penalties for misuse of suppressors and other technology by wildlife and property law violators…
Will I get the $2000 I spent obtaining the Form 1s for the 10 silencers I already own?
As much as I love this idea,
One Word:
Chuck Schumer/Joe Biden/Kamala Harris/Demonrat Party
Ok Ok, maybe more than one word.
We HAVE to take back the ENTIRE government, as in: NO Democrat Majority or in the WH.
We are going to get Nothing done UNLESS we do that.
I like the concept, and it’s high time for suppressors to be deregulated. But, there’s a catch. Lee notes that “suppressors are like any other accessory and shouldn’t be regulated like a firearm” or words to that extent. But magazines, in particular, are very much an integral part of a firearm and should enjoy the same protections under 2A. We just saw in NJ that banning the AR15 was ruled unconstitutional, but the judge was okay with infringing on magazine capacity. The devil is in the details with this one – dereg the suppressors, but don’t do anything that might cause repercussions with mags or other critical parts.
I am once again surprised that no one talks about how the EU doesn’t regulate suppressors at all, and, in some countries, REQUIRE one to get a suppressor when they get their gun when they introduce pro-gun bills like this. They had their chance way back when when the Hearing Protection Act was introduced a few years ago, but they kept silent. They are silent once again.
Proof that ALL politicians are just grandstanding for votes before the election cycle begins.