Pair of pro-gun bills on move in House

But in reality there is no evidence that criminal use of suppressors would rise.

If criminals wanted suppressors now they would have them. You can make a superiors easily now just by treading an oil filter for a car on the end of a barrel- available at any auto parts store with some fitting from the hardware store and you have it for $15.

The fact that criminals are not doing it when it is so easy says they don't have a demand for them.

This won't change the background checks for them, aside from how they are done. Right now they are done on paper in a process established in 1934 before there was an instant check system. This change would just move them to the instant check system used for guns now, and eliminate the $200 tax that wasn't enough to cover the administrative cost of doing it all on paper like they do now.

They are not the magical "silencers" of movies. I use one when I shoot at the range. I'm not trying to hide from anyone, but it protects my ears, and is courteous to the folks living near the range.

They work on the same principal as the muffler on your car. They quiet things down.... they don't make them silent.

too many people getting their knowledge of guns from Hollywood.

what's the need?

you just assumed their only purpose is to make the weapon completely silent so you can kill more effectively.

I would buy one to help protect my hearing. Suppressor plus ear muffs would drop the noise level well below the danger threshold.

They are common and legal in many European countries. It doesn't seem to be an issue there.

sounds worthless to me, just sayin'

A 5.56 millimeter caliber rifle is about 160 dB when fired.... enough to instantly damage the hearing of anyone close to the gun. Ear plug or muffs offer about 15-30 dB of protection. That means you can be wearing plugs or muffs and STILL damage your hearing. Wearing both together offers a total of about 35 dB protection on average, below the threshhold for instant damage.

A good sound suppressor lowers the rifle shot to the 130's... theoretically safe without further hearing protection, but very safe if you throw in some plugs or muffs.... but still as loud as an ambulance siren.

People's perception of what these things do are very much off.

Some smaller caliber weapons, using subsonic ammunition, can be made much quieter, but even then are not silent, and they are not as dangerous in mass shooting scenarios.

They saw a movie where someone shot a "silencer" gun and 50 people in the same room never noticed, so that must be reality.

They reduce noise levels to the point they don't damage hearing. That's all.

If you ask any specialist in industrial hygiene or safety about dealing with loud noises and hearing loss you will find they all say reducing noise at its source is far more effective and preferable to reliance on ear plugs or other measures when it comes to protecting hearing. Plugs and other hearing protection measures are the band aid when you have failed to reduce the noise at the source.

Even OSHA has been on record of recommending the use of suppressors for protection of the hearing of employees at firing ranges or who fire guns as part of their jobs.

As for safety- any time you wear ear plugs you have reduced situational awareness and knowledge of what's around you. This is a big deal for hunters, as an example. To be as safe as possible when hunting you don't want ear plugs in where you may not hear people approaching you as they talk, so you may not know they are there. But going without ear plugs exposes your ears to permanent irreversible hearing damage- so it puts hunters in a no-win situation. Suppressors would allow the hunter to not wear ear plugs to be as safe as possible while also not risking damage to their hearing.

It's also polite- if you use suppressors you don't have noise pollution spread as far and laid to disturb people around you. For this reason in many countries in Europe suppressors are not only widely available to gun owners but it's considered rude to not use them.