Here, Let Me Rewrite That For You

Imagine you recently got this email. It came from either the buggy-whip manufacturer’s association or Earth First. Either way, they were anti-automobile because cars don’t fit their agenda. In other words, while they are being chauffeured around in stretch limos, they don’t want the roads crowded with the likes of you.

Here’s the email:

For the first time in a decade, auto sales are down in the United States.

So it’s no wonder deregulating mufflers is at the top of the automobile manufacturers lobby’s agenda. They need to find new ways to make money, regardless of the cost to our communities, and making this policy priority a legislative reality would mean big business for auto manufacturers.

But here’s the dangerous truth: if mufflers were deregulated and sold without any oversight, they could be sold without background checks. And when that happens, they can easily get into the hands of dangerous people. That puts us all at risk, because mufflers make it more difficult for law enforcement to locate speeders, and easier for criminals to quietly escape.

But it appears Congress may move forward on the deregulation of mufflers anyway. But before they do, we have a chance to make our voices heard:

Sign our petition calling on Congress to REJECT any legislation that would deregulate the sale of automobile mufflers.

Automobile mufflers can cost anywhere from a couple hundred dollars to up to $2,500 for the most expensive muffler sold by Quiet Cars. This is big business.

But the profits to a few manufacturers will never be as important as the safety of our communities across the country. That’s why making your voice heard is so important.

You are probably thinking that mufflers are a good thing and you’d be right. Among other things they reduce noise pollution. You won’t be woken up in the middle of your afternoon nap anymore when an unmuffled car drives by your house.

Of course, the real email from Mark Kelly aka Mr. Gabby Giffords of Americans for Responsible Solutions (sic) is talking about silencers and suppressors for firearms. My rewriting of his email was to show just how ridiculousness of his position. I could go on but I think you get it.

Is This The Best They Can Do?

Now that the Hearing Protection Act has been introduced in both the House and the Senate the wailing and gnashing of teeth is beginning to be heard from the gun prohibitionists. Just today I received the following in my email from the Space Cowboy aka Mr. Gabby Giffords aka Mark Kelly of the Americans for Responsible Solutions.

John –

With Donald Trump set to take office in just three days, the gun lobby
and their allies in Congress have set their sights on a pair of bills
that will make our communities far less safe from gun violence.
One of those bills would lift restrictions on the sale of firearm silencers.
Now, I don’t want to give the impression that firearm silencers work
like you see them in the movies — where someone fires a gun and it
wouldn’t wake a person sleeping in the same room.
But silencers do suppress sound and light when a weapon is
discharged, and that makes them attractive accessories for criminals who
want to conceal their crimes.
Before Trump takes office, it’s important we lay down a marker on this issue.
The gun lobby will tell you that this legislation is designed to
protect people’s hearing, but the truth is that it’s a massive financial
giveaway to the corporations who manufacture and sell firearm
silencers. The safety of our communities is more important than the
manufacturers’ bottom lines.
Thank you for adding your name.
Mark Kelly
Americans for Responsible Solutions PAC

You want to say, “Really, Mark? Is this the best you can come up with?” A suppressor suppresses sound and light and thus make them attractive accessories for criminals. Flash suppressors for rifles are legal in most states and do not require any license, permit, fee, or registration.

The same could be said for common items like bed pillows, oil filters, 2-liter Coke bottles, and potatoes. All of these common items could be used by thugs, murderers, and criminals to muffle the sound of the firearm and possibly reduce its flash.

Having reported on hundreds of defensive gun uses on the Polite Society Podcast I have yet to come across mention of a criminal having a suppressor in his or her possession while committing an assault, robbery, home invasion, or murder. Indeed, more often than not, these miscreants use the loud sound of a firearm discharge to attempt to cow their victims. They aren’t worried about the police because most times they anticipate being gone by the time the police arrive.

What Kelly is not saying is that treating silencers and suppressors like ordinary firearms still requires a NICS check as they are going to be transferred by FFLs. You would still have to fill out a Form 4473 and felons, drug abusers, those convicted of domestic violence, etc. would still be prohibited from purchasing and possessing a suppressor. While I might want a suppressor to be sold like replacement mufflers for a lawnmower at Ace Hardware, these bills are a good first step in an effort to reduce noise pollution and protect the hearing of hunters and shooters.