H.R.152 - Hearing Protection Act (2023)

[12Bravo20]

HR 152 Hearing Protection Act was introduced Jan 9, 2023

Introduced in House (01/09/2023)
Hearing Protection Act

This bill removes silencers from the definition of firearms for purposes of the National Firearms Act. It also treats persons acquiring or possessing a firearm silencer as meeting any registration and licensing requirements of such Act.

The Department of Justice must destroy certain records relating to the registration, transfer, or making of a silencer.

The bill also revises the definitions of firearm silencer and firearm muffler under the federal criminal code and includes such items in the 10% excise tax category.

Here is the full text: https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/152/text?s=1&r=2

It would be nice for this to actually go through and pass both houses of Congress. I know- wishful thinking.

Mods, I put in general since there hasn't been any actions taken yet other than referred to committees. Feel free to move if necessary.

 

[jmorris]

It would be nice for this to actually go through and pass both houses of Congress. I know- wishful thinking.

Yeah, that’s on the order of me wishing to win every lottery in the Country despite having never bought a single ticket.

We had a much better chance with the folks in power when they banned bump stocks…

 

[12Bravo20]

If we keep pushing for this by contacting our Representatives and Senators, then there might be a chance for this to pass.

 

[kidneyboy]

Sound byte legislation.

 

[rust collector]

This legislation may be seen as DOA, but I suspect that happened with the NFA at some point in its legislative journey, and look how that turned out. Bills like this have potential for leverage, vote trading, or other legislative legerdemain that could be useful under the right circumstances. A show of support certainly has better potential benefit than abandonment, which shows we lack the will to resist. Let your legislators know your position and keep hope alive.

 

[CoalCrackerAl]

It would be nice. Prices would come down. More companies would make them. Thus more competition. And if you want make your own.

 

[hso]

Feel free to move if necessary.

There won't be any need. While I would love to see this legislation make it through the House (likely) and the Senate (maybe) it would need a veto-proof majority in the Senate to get past POTUS. Not this time, but we can make note of who opposes it and mark them for removal from office if possible.

 

[Bfh_auto]

There won't be any need. While I would love to see this legislation make it through the House (likely) and the Senate (maybe) it would need a veto-proof majority in the Senate to get past POTUS. Not this time, but we can make note of who opposes it and mark them for removal from office if possible.

Agreed. It's like drawing fire to learn the enemies' position.

 

[dogtown tom]

... but I suspect that happened with the NFA at some point in its legislative journey, and look how that turned out....

Not even close. The NFA took less than a month from introduction to being signed into law.
Introduced in the House as H.R. 9741 by Robert L. Doughton (D–NC) on May 28, 1934
Committee consideration by House Ways and Means, Senate Finance
Passed the House on June 13, 1934 (Passed)
Passed the Senate on June 18, 1934 (Passed)
Signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on June 26, 1934

 

[Mars5l]

I'd stimulate the economy so much if I didn't have to pay a tax and wait 9 months. Hell I could see every suppressor dealer selling out in a day if they were removed from the NFA

 

[Robbins290]

I'd stimulate the economy so much if I didn't have to pay a tax and wait 9 months. Hell I could see every suppressor dealer selling out in a day if they were removed from the NFA

Same, I would have at least a dozen.

 

[rust collector]

Not even close. The NFA took less than a month from introduction to being signed into law.
Introduced in the House as H.R. 9741 by Robert L. Doughton (D–NC) on May 28, 1934
Committee consideration by House Ways and Means, Senate Finance
Passed the House on June 13, 1934 (Passed)
Passed the Senate on June 18, 1934 (Passed)
Signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on June 26, 1934

I deduced that headwinds were encountered which cause handguns to be removed from the ranks of NFA weapons. Not so?

 

[dogtown tom]

I deduced that headwinds were encountered which cause handguns to be removed from the ranks of NFA weapons. Not so?

So

 

[earlthegoat2]

If suppressors had nothing to do with firearms they would be perfectly legal. Since they do, here we are are.

They are an unfortunate carryover from the 1930s when the context of their legality was subtly different. If the NFA were written today, I doubt suppressors would be included in it.

 

[TTv2]

Yeah, that’s on the order of me wishing to win every lottery in the Country despite having never bought a single ticket.

We had a much better chance with the folks in power when they banned bump stocks…

If they roll it into the upcoming budget bill to avert the US from defaulting on its debt, it may pass. Problem is even when the GOP is in control nothing ever gets done because it is more a RINO party than a Grand Old party.

 

[TTv2]

This legislation may be seen as DOA, but I suspect that happened with the NFA at some point in its legislative journey, and look how that turned out. Bills like this have potential for leverage, vote trading, or other legislative legerdemain that could be useful under the right circumstances. A show of support certainly has better potential benefit than abandonment, which shows we lack the will to resist. Let your legislators know your position and keep hope alive.

The Democrats of that time waited for years until they had FDR in office and a mid term election. The crime waves from Prohibition violence and Depression Era gangsters was headline news in the 20s and 30s and local police were legitimately outgunned, so there was support back then for greater restrictions on machine guns, but I doubt there was much support for making short barrel stuff and suppressors regulated.

I want to say there's growing support for removing suppressors because in other firearm restrictive countries suppressors are not restricted, but I have no faith in the Congress to ever pass any bill that is pro gun and whenever the Congress comes close to removing something from the NFA some wind up toy gets let loose in a church or a hotel full of guns and bump stocks is discovered in Las Vegas.

 

[troy fairweather]

New York probably wouldn't let us have them anyway.

 

[Navy87Guy]

It’s always boggled my mind that it takes a year to get approval for an accessory - yet approvals (Form 1) for an actual weapon come back in just two weeks!

I doubt passing it has anything to do with common sense. The Democrats (and a few knuckle headed Republicans) will be too worried about pandering to their base than they will be about passing laws that make sense. They don’t want to have to answer questions about being “soft” on gun control, so it will just die a quiet death.

We need a Republican Administration that can have the ATF just “write a rule” to change NFA registration…

 

[jmorris]

If they roll it into the upcoming budget bill to avert the US from defaulting on its debt, it may pass. Problem is even when the GOP is in control nothing ever gets done because it is more a RINO party than a Grand Old party.

That’s just it, that’s something a Democrat would come up with to forward their goal with any foothold they can get to take a step. Many of the people that say they are pro 2nd Amendment just want our votes. After that they declare bumpstocks illegal…. If you want to go further back, after Clinton we voted in a Republican POTUS, House and Senate, you know what they did to forward gun owners cause, nothing. Just let Clinton’s AWB sunset…nothing proactive.

Most of them just come around beating drums when it’s time to vote. Kind of like the chance of this actually passing, it’s for show. So threads like this exist. You have to ask yourself why it didn’t pass when republicans were in control of more than just the House and it actually a remote chance of it passing?

 

[Robert]

This is pandering plain and simple. They didn't pass it when we held both houses and the oval office, they sure as heck ain't going to pass it now. But it garners votes from gun owners because, hey look, we tried a thing. They have no real intentions of ever passing this. But maybe I'm just cynical...

 

[GEM]

Robert is exactly correct. Send a check. God forbid that Scotus wiped out the most obnoxious gun laws. There goes the funding raising issue. The NRA become some bullseye and guys shooting ducks and mooses.

As a somewhat political note, the GOP House had no problem passing endless attacks on Obama care to set the stage for a Senate vote (which of course failed and that is not the issue whether you like Obama care). However, they will not set the stage for gun rights. Mitch kept gun bills from consideration. There was a proposed bill that would have voided AWBs (SAGA act) and it never got out of committee.

BTW, there are a fair number of legal scholars who think Kavanaugh and Roberts are very weak on gun rights and that might have kept Scotus from making strong, clear decisions instead of the historical meanderings of Bruen. It was a Kennedy/Steven situation that led to weakness in Heller which is being replayed today.

 

[Speedo66]

Any district with an anti gun majority, their representative would face political suicide if they voted for it.

Representative: “But it’s to keep shooters from going deaf”.

Constituents: “They’ll go deaf from shooting guns? Good!”

 

[12Bravo20]

We all know this as little to no chance of passing. But if we keep on our elected officials the maybe there will be a chance for it to pass. And as mentioned, let it come to a full vote and we will then know who to vote for or against in next election.

I started this thread in hopes that people would start contacting their Representatives and asking them to vote for this bill. Let your voices be heard.

 

[buck460XVR]

This is pandering plain and simple. They didn't pass it when we help both houses and the oval office, they sure as heck ain't going to pass it now. But it garners votes from gun owners because, hey look, we tried a thing. They have no real intentions of ever passing this. But maybe I'm just cynical...

^^^......I gotta tend to agree.
If one looks back at history, both the NFA , GCA and the FOP(amendment to the GCA) came after some kind of negative action in the eyes of the general public(assassination, attempted assassination or extreme crime violence). The fact that even after the multitude of recent school and other mass shootings in the U.S., that there has not been any new major legislation restricting firearms, already tells me that legal gun ownership has a positive image here in the States. While there is a "tax" for SBRs and suppressors, they are legal for law abiding citizens to own and use. I believe that any forced lifting of the "tax" and the approval, will have to take baby steps and may create more obstacles than it removes. As with the acceptance of EBRs and high capacity magazines, it took a while for the average person to accept. These are the people that politicians are looking to please. While most of us here accept SBRs and suppressors as no legitimate threat to the general public, the majority of average folks out there still have an archaic impression of them. I believe in time, when more folks get comfortable with the fact that their neighbors and friends have owned said items, and have not used them in a negative way, that the restrictions on them will loosen, regardless of who is in control in Washington. Comes down to, IMHO, "we the people".

 

[buck460XVR]

I'd stimulate the economy so much if I didn't have to pay a tax and wait 9 months. Hell I could see every suppressor dealer selling out in a day if they were removed from the NFA

Same, I would have at least a dozen.

I remember when the same was said of "if ever Colt brings back the Python!". While they have sold, I never saw the flood gates open like was expressed on gun forums. Yes, there will be those folks that put a suppressor on every firearm they own, and some folks will buy one, "just because they can!" now, but I also believe that the use of sub-sonic ammo, is not in the cards for everyone that uses a firearm, nor are they practical for many applications. Still, having the option, without the hassle, is what most of us would like to see.