There are arguments on both sides. I have to agree with some of the points raised in the article, and add that guns would be used a lot more often by criminals if they weren’t so noisy. Gun shot will definitely attract attention. And I don’t see, practically, being able to use a silencer on a small concealed carry gun. And I prefer to train the way I carry. More important for long guns, I would think. (And except perhaps with bolt action rifles, the sound reduction with a “silencer” is not all that great, just enough to avoid hearing damage.)
But the NRA (and the ATF’s COO) is correct in pushing for repeal of the NFA’s regulation of silencers. Let the states experiment with regulating this item.
Gunfire — loud, sharp, rude, abrupt — is an important safety feature of any firearm. From potential victims who seek to escape a mass shooting to a hiker being alerted to the presence of a hunter in the woods, the sound warns bystanders of potentially lethal danger. Yet gun advocates insist there is a greater danger: hearing loss by gun owners.
Source: The NRA wants to suppress one of guns’ most important safety features
