Hearing Protection Act

Status
Not open for further replies.
Ryanxia

Ryanxia

Member
Joined
Jun 18, 2010
Messages
4,626
Location
'MURICA!
It appears to me that the current status of the Hearing Protection Act (an act to eliminate the $200 tax stamp requirement on suppressors/silencers) is currently in the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations as of 11/23/15.

I believe our current move is to contact the members of this subcommittee and urge them to support this act (H.R. 3799). I found a list of them but does anyone know of a way to contact them all at once instead of individually? The NRA has a write your reps website but I don't think it allows you to select committees.

List of subcommittee members here: http://judiciary.house.gov/index.cf...errorism-homeland-security-and-investigations
 
I'm not sure if a mass e-mail is possible, but I wrote Trey Gowdy as I believe he will be on our side.
 
Heres all the subcommittee members with links to their web pages.

https://www.govtrack.us/congress/committees/HSJU/08

I went to two of their web pages and clicked on email but was denied. Before you get access to their email you first must put in your zip code. I put in my actual zip code which fell outside of their district.

I guess you could look up each members district pick out a zip code that falls within that district and then plug that in. Next cut and past all the email addresses together and post it on a public forum. Although they probably wouldn't appreciate it and would just delete it.

Probably the best option is if any one of these people falls within a THR member's actual district then contact that person only.

Thanks, Dan
 
Thanks Dan. I guess even in a committee they only want to hear from their own constituents. Makes it kind of hard for the rest of us.

If they vote Ought Not to Pass does it die in the committee or is there still a way for it to proceed?
 
A bill has to get out of Committee to get a floor vote. If it dies in Committee it is dead and has to be started all over again.
 
Yes if they vote it down in any one committee it goes not further. If it is voted through this committee it will go on to the next committee and then usually another one. Usually they need to pass through 3 or so committees before it goes to the floor for a vote.

Then the companion bill in the senate (if there even is a companion bill) will need to go through its own series of committees and then to its floor vote.

Its also possible that some that the people on the committee simply don't want to vote on this matter at all. For instance some republicans who is generally pro gun might not want to be casting a vote either way on something like silencers. So they might ask the committee chairman not to schedule then bill on the committee agenda at all. That save everyone from having to take a stand.

Over the past couple weeks in florida we had a open cary bill here in florida that passed all three house committees and was voted for on the house floor. Then in the senate it passed two committees but the last committee it looked like it could pass but the committee chair would not schedule the senate companion bill on the agenda for a vote. The bill just stayed there until the legislative session ended. Too bad since the governor said he would sign it too. More info here:

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=797190

Dan
 
Looks like it basically takes silencers out of the NFA for Federal Purposes but kind of keeps them there for all the State laws that reference Federal law.

I only have one $200 payment post October 2015 that would qualify for a refund but I could care less.

Mike
 
I'm not holding my breath on this one. It's too bad because I don't think suppressors should be NFA items and I'm dumbfounded how something that is not capable of firing a projectile is considered a firearm. Even in the UK, with their highly restrictive gin laws, you can go into the store and walk out with a "moderator" (aka a can) with no restrictions. Even the Brits realize that suppressors are not items that need restricted and that they don't make firearms totally silent like the movies.... Too bad everyone here believes Hollywood more than the truth.
 
Imagine all the outdoor ranges that have been shut due to excessive noise that could have remained open if suppressors were in common use and mandated at the range.

Imagine the personal ranges that may spring up if a bill like this gets passed.

Home owners near by may complain about safety, but I believe it's noise that gets ranges shut down. And I can't entirely fault them.

Hopefully, against the odds, this bill goes somewhere.
 
I'm dumbfounded that they would refund the tax's on suppressors after 10/15/15. I'd get $800 in refunds! Woo hoo!

I don't think it will pass but it would be pretty awesome if it did.
 
So what is the plan to push this forward?

Standard practice is to contact the committee members with clearly worded emails and snail mail and voice message as well as your elected representatives. Explain that this is a safety feature that even OSHA would require. DO NOT RANT! It spoils the effort. Rational supporting brief messages get far more done.
 
Use the links to your congress critters for their snail and email addresses and send simple letters like the ones below to them. It is especially important to identify yourself as a constituent if you are one. You can also follow it on PopVox and see who the cosponsors are and thank them. https://www.popvox.com/bills/us/114/hr3799 Here's the link to the American Suppressor Association and their letter form http://americansuppressorassociation.com/hearing-protection-act/

I am writing as your constituent in the 0th Congressional district of XXX. I support H.R.3799 - Hearing Protection Act of 2015 and expect your full support as well. Firearms suppressors are commonly recognized as safety devices in Europe and are available off the shelf in the UK, France, Norway, etc. Protecting the hearing of America's shooting voters is at least as important. Citizens should not have to pay a tax to protect their hearing

I am writing in support of H.R.3799 - Hearing Protection Act of 2015 and ask that you do everything within your power to see that it reaches the Floor for a vote and that you support its passage. Firearms suppressors are commonly recognized as safety devices in Europe and are available off the shelf in the UK, France, Norway, etc. Protecting the hearing of America's shooting voters is at least as important. Citizens should not have to pay a tax to protect their hearing
 
Last edited:
''...its passage. Firearms suppressors are commonly recognized as safety devices in Europe and are available off the shelf. Protecting the...''

I did a wikipedia search for suppressors in Europe, it lists the countries and the vast majority do not allow them. Is there some info I am missing? I don't want to inform my Rep. , with bad info

thanks!
 
Check the silencer forums. UK, Finland, Norway, France and Poland are ok for them. Use is now restricted to hunting in Denmark and Sweden has been using them for hunting for a while. Italy allows them, but not for hunting. Germany requires the same licensing as the firearm, but that can be complicated. Regulated isn't the same as prohibited. The goal is to remove the onerous federal restriction not to do away with all regulation.

Suppressors are legal in the vast majority of U.S. states as well and most of them allow them for hunting making an effective argument to do away with the heavy fees and background checks on them (treat them like a handgun purchase if you want to give the illusion a NICS check does anything to deter criminals).
 
Last edited:
There are 351 bills referred to this subcommittee. Below find the top 100:

Good lord, look at all the bills in this subcommittee. Buried in the Bill dump.
 
HSO thnx 4 the info. Will include several countries as a comparison in my letters. And of course, the good ol' USA. Also, I cannot ever recall of a supressor being used in a crime or any NFA item for that matter. You just don't hear about it. And I'm sure the news media would talk it up, quick
 
The only murder with a machine gun was an Ohio police officer who used his to kill an informant back in the late 80s. There have been no civilian legal machine gun murders that I have found. Suppressor use in crime is also impossible to find except for illegal ones in poaching.
 
As has been mentioned, suppressors are friendly to the environment and are good for reducing hearing damage.
In the UK they are actively promoted. My range is in a semi-residential area. There are football fields and tennis courts on one side and a general field for walking dogs, baseball, football on the other. The third side is private property with horses and the last side across the road is open land leading to a heritage site.
After dusk if you are shooting outside you must use a suppressor (usually applies to air rifle and .22 rimfire). Otherwise you have to shoot on the indoor range.

Here in the UK suppressors are cheap: you can get a .22 Parker Hale for £20, and others such as SAK for around £50 and then further up the quality ladder you can get an ASE Utra or ATEC CMM4 for around £85.

If the suppressor is going on an air rifle it doesn't need to be on a firearms certificate. But any suppressor for a firearm is licensed the same as a section 1 gun. You need authority to purchase beforehand, but this is not resisted. At the time that authority is sought for the gun, the applicant usually adds the suppressor (called a sound moderator here).
When I got my semi-auto 12g shotgun, I added a suppressor for that (you never know, I could get one for giggles).
 
This has sat dormant for a while so here's some good information to use writing and calling and visiting your Congresscritters.

From a CDC study of instructors and students during a course of instruction.
Health Hazard Evaluation Report HETA 2011-0069-3140 said:
The only potentially effective noise control method to reduce students’ or instructors’ noise exposure from gunfire is through the use of noise suppressors that can be attached to the end of the gun barrel.
Click to expand...
https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/hhe/reports/pdfs/2011-0069-3140.pdf
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

A
  • Locked
more hearings on BATFE, will these be web cast, or so schedule proclaims.
Replies
2
Views
314
Strings
S
S
  • Locked
DC Personal Protection Act - Now is the time...
2
Replies
29
Views
2K
DKSuddeth
D
Twiki357
  • Locked
Hearing for HR 822
Replies
12
Views
827
ATBackPackin
A
J
  • Locked
Current Pro-Gun Legislation
Replies
0
Views
449
JAshley73
J
W
  • Locked
injustice subcom activity
Replies
3
Views
363
makarova
M
Back
Top