Lawmakers introduced a new bill aimed at deregulating suppressors and treating them like firearm accessories.
Introduced on January 30, “Silencers Help Us Save Hearing Act” would classify suppressors as gun accessories, therefore removing them from under the purview of the National Firearms Act.
The SHUSH Act would erase all federal, local, and state restrictions on suppressors. This means that record-keeping, marking, and registration laws would no longer be needed.
Additionally, the bill would allow active and retired law enforcement personnel to carry concealed suppressors.
Currently, suppressors are classified under the NFA. This means that to own one, consumers must first fill out paperwork and pay a $200 tax stamp, then wait for approval from the ATF.
The SHUSH Act would, therefore, make suppressor ownership easier, accessible, and cheaper.
U.S. Rep. Michael Cloud (R-TX) said that suppressors are not scary like Hollywood has made them out to be but, instead, are essential tools everyday gun owners should be able to use.
“Suppressors are a vital tool for responsible gun owners that protect hearing, enhance safety, and reduce firearm noise—but thanks to Hollywood and federal overreach, they’ve been unfairly vilified,” Cloud said in a statement.
“Law-abiding Americans shouldn’t have to endure months of red tape and pay an additional tax just to access a safety accessory. The SHUSH Act puts an end to this unnecessary bureaucratic red tape, eliminates the federal tax, and prevents state overreach by treating suppressors like any other firearm accessory.”
But opponents disagree.
“Silencers pose a significant danger in the wrong hands,” Everytown for Gun Safety said on its site.
“They make it harder for bystanders or law enforcement to identify and react quickly to gunshots. Policymakers should block the gun lobby’s dangerous efforts to deregulate silencers.”
This isn’t the first time the bill has graced the congressional floor. It appeared in 2019, 2021, and July 2024.
For now, the SHUSH Act has been referred to the Committee on Finance.
What do you think of the SHUSH Act? Sound off in the comments below. Interested in getting your own suppressor, check out the Best 9mm & .45 ACP Suppressors, Best AR-15 Suppressors, and our guide to How to Buy A Suppressor.
26 Leave a Reply
I’ve long wondered why suppressors are illegal.
They have many valuable benefits including but not limited to firearm loud noise for those that live near places of everyday shooting! As I type the noises are loud in my home.
Hollywood movies have continually painted suppressors as weapon attachments by the Bad guys, mafia etc.
time for Common Sense laws!
Here's a novel idea. Why not push the democrats/leftists/corrupt politicians to focus on the criminals instead of the law-abiding, innocent majority? Fyi, It's not the guns, or suppressors, or the knives, or the rocks, or the cars that kill and maim people. Those with common sense know this inherently.
I should have also added that it's much better to punish the criminal instead of imposing a law that punishes the innocent and law abiding firearms owner and shooter.
Exactly. However in the dem's utopia, the needs of the few (criminals, weirdos and corrupt politicians) outweigh the needs of the many, unfortunately.
Face it, the number of shooting enthusiasts is growing faster and stronger than anyone imagined and it's a push against any and all who are naysayers against most facets of firearms ownership. The mix between self defense, hunting, and sport shooting is becoming thinner and thinner meaning that many will try all types of shooting before becoming settled with one or two. That's a lot of rounds fired and the hearing thing is no joke. You said you were an "Era" veteran, meaning that you didn't actually serve in a combat zone or engage in combat. I'm the same way but served overseas as a nuclear security agent and we live fire practiced the taking and re-taking of nuclear ordinance enough to damage our hearing with ear plugs because they didn't remain in place during physical maneuvering.
You raise a good question, but I think the mass market demand for hearing safety is far greater than the threat of someone misusing a silenced firearm. Of course someone will misuse the device but there will always be someone misusing everything from Drano to mosquito spray to butter knives and all can kill one to many. I"m 70 myself and when you say, " I was a gun enthusiast and hunter...." , I would say, "I AM yet a gun enthusiast and hunter and it's much more difficult to do nearly anything without the use of my hearing, which was damaged in the military. Truly, had you lost most of your hearing from the repeated blast of firearms AND you were still an avid hunter/shooter, I believe your viewpoint might be softened significantly.
I just saw this bill, and wanted to comment.
The U.S. may now become even more dangerous from people seeking to do harm with a gun.
The question is: are an individuals "rights" to life less important than the "right" to buy these? I'm fully aware what many gun enthusiasts say: these will protect my hearing and stop nearby people from being bothered by legal shooting.
They also make the job of law enforcement even more dangerous. A cop ambush would take precious time to locate the shooter(s). Civilians being shot at may have no idea where to move to that is safe. Law enforcement gunshot detection systems become useless with these. And yes, I'm fully aware that these will not work well with higher velocity ammo.
Some here will be horrified by my statements, however I think that I know what I'm writing about. Me: 73 years old, was a gun enthusiast and hunter since I was 12, active duty 3 year Vietnam era Army veteran, was a Washington state Fish and Game Department firearms trainer, 24 years of federal law enforcement work, Sig trained handgun instructor, FLETC trained M16 instructor, and Sig handgun & M16 armorer.
And again restricting law abiding citizens (who are the only ones obeying laws) in an absurd attempt to stop criminals (who are released bail free within hours of committing crimes)
Silencers/Suppressors are NOT safety devices. It’s a novel label to put on these to give them a legitimate use. I tend to think of all the negative uses for silencers and it far overstates the good reasons.
-Gives school shooters the ability to kill more before being discovered.
-Homocide rates go up. No one can hear gunshots from crime. Shooters can kill indiscriminately as we can not tell where they are. Driveby’s are easier.
-More people could die from neighbors practicing and shooting in the wrong directions.
-Incidences happening in one room and no one hearing in rest of house.
-Killing of animals both domestic and wild and no one knows. Illegal hunting, poaching.
It opens us up to all kinds of negative consequences that we do not need. As we have learned, it’s difficult to get a law passed and if we go here, it may create a situation where we can not get it reversed. I think that they are cool too, bit I can not give you one reason why I need to have one. Get some ear plugs or headphones to protect your hearing!
Ask anyone who has hearing loss or tinnitus from years of shooting (even with ear pro) and they may disagree, but I understand your general sentiment. Thankfully, ATF stats indicate suppressors are hardly used in crime so far.
Hopefully this will pass. It has a better chance now than ever before. As with all things creating justification for deregulation should not come without concessions. God bless the many innocent victims of gun related crimes. The sponsors of 850 would do well to sponsor separate laws that would make it Federal Jurisdiction with mandatory (and very stiff) penalties for the possession and/or use of a firearm in the act of committing a felony crime. Additional stringent penalties for aggravated, premeditated use of such items as semi/automatic weapons, high-capacity magazines, suppressors, and/or other modified equipment with intent commit a crime should be included in the language. Up to and including the death penalty, under the right circumstances.
Enough of the laws that do little or nothing to deal with the senseless, heinous acts of the immoral minority. It is these ill thought-out laws that result in persecuting the moral majority! Let's go after the bad guys and make an example out of them!
Speaking as a CJ major, all these laws you mentioned (besides federal jurisdiction) are already on the books. Was there something I'm missing?
So why can't the rules be amended to allow suppressor(s) to be used on any firearm legal for hunting? For example: In PA no semiauto handgun may be used for hunting. Maybe USA should look into the rules governing suppressors in England, where they are in common, widespread use.
Americans think of England as a nation with very restrictive gun laws. I watch a lot of videos of English hunters harvesting deer, rabbits, and foxes. Virtually every rifle in those videos is equipped with a silencer aka suppressor. But the power-loving American politicos and bureaucrats want to continue any and all gun control they can exert on free Americans.
So the argument for short barrel rifles being easier to conceal has prompted a number of laws. This is in direct conflict with adding double the barrel length to a firearm to prevent hearing damage. I bet too many lawmakers think suppressors work like they see in the movies.
More safety devices and less govt regulation!
Would this negate State laws that don't allow suppressors?
This country needs to get in line with other countries that understand why suppressors are a very important accessory to a gun. Hearing protection is required on all shooting ranges in this country to protect hearing. Not only for the shooters but for the spectators watching what is going on. Suppressors would help mitigate range noise and go easier on every one involved. And as residents of the USA, and supporters of the Constitution we need to put a stop to all the laws that are doing no good but infringing on our rights.
Glock switches, which are all over the streets, are clearly illegal and make the gun more lethal without any benefits to most of us law abiding citizens. A silencer doesn’t do anything to make a gun more lethal and has many benefits for citizens and their neighbors. If a criminal wants to use a silencer, they can make one very easily and inexpensively out of a filter purchased from an auto parts store. This bill helps people like me, retired fixed income gun enthusiast who have bad hearing and want a well made product.
I cannot believe that any police officer would believe this bill is a step in the right direction. Kill this bill before its' passage kills cops.
Especially when they are Flerken cats
And on a more positive note, I'm for it. Keep going!
ANY weapon poses a significant danger, IN THE WRONG HANDS. That is an ignorant argument, but then most gun control arguments are ignorant.
Nope, no way, no how. It's a given that the Demonrats won't vote for it, but there are WAY TOO MANY stupid, squishy Republicrats who only care about their next election. And since many millions of gun (and suppressor) owners don't even vote, getting suppressors removed from the NFA WILL NEVER HAPPEN!!!
As long as we have Hollywood movies portraying suppressors as what they’re not—Will be a tough sell to the uneducated lawmakers.
And why should cops get different rights? All Cats Are Beautiful.
It will never happen…