ADVISORY: Retired ATF Special Agent David Chipman To Testify Before Federal Lands Subcommittee On Bill That Would Deregulate Silencers, Threaten Public Safety
September 8, 2017 — On Tuesday, September 12, David Chipman, a former ATF Special Agent and a Senior Policy Advisor at Americans for Responsible Solutions, the gun safety organization founded by former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and her husband Captain Mark Kelly, will testify before the House Committee on Natural Resources Federal Lands Subcommittee on H.R. 3668, the Sportsmen’s Heritage and Recreational Enhancement (SHARE) Act.
The SHARE Act would have a disastrous impact on public safety and law enforcement. Some of the key provisions of the bill include:
- Rolling back an 80-year-old federal law that regulates the sale of gun silencers
- Weakening the regulation of interstate firearms transport
- Weakening the regulation of armor-piercing ammunition
Over the past several months, Americans for Responsible Solutions has been working with law enforcement experts to raise awareness about the public safety dangers of deregulating gun silencers. Silencers reduce the sound of gunfire and mask muzzle flash, making it difficult for people who are nearby, including law enforcement, to identify the sound of gunshots and locate an active shooter. Erasing regulations will make silencers inevitably much more accessible to convicted criminals and domestic abusers. Recent public opinion research commissioned by Americans for Responsible Solutions shows that even gun owners overwhelmingly oppose rolling back regulations on the sale of silencers.
Members of the media are encouraged to attend the hearing.
WHAT: House Committee On Natural Resources Federal Lands Subcommittee Hearing On The SHARE Act
WHEN:10:00am, Tuesday, September 12, 2017
WHO: The following individuals will testify before the committee
- Mr. David Chipman, Senior Policy Advisor, Americans for Responsible Solutions and a former ATF Special Agent for 25 years
- Ms. Anna Seidman, Director of Government Affairs, Safari Club International
- Mr. Stephen Halbrook, Attorney
- Mr. Christopher Sharon, Chief Operating Officer, Hope For The Warriors
WHERE: Longworth House Office Building // Room 1334 // Washington, DC 20515
*** ADDITIONAL BACKGROUND INFORMATION ***
About The SHARE Act
The SHARE Act would have a disastrous impact on public safety and law enforcement. Some of the key provisions of the bill include:
- Rolling back an 80-year-old federal law that regulates the sale of gun silencers
- Weakening the regulation of interstate firearm transport
- Weakening the regulation of armor-piercing ammunition
Additional information about the SHARE Act is available in this background memo from Americans for Responsible Solutions. Act.
Related Resources from Americans for Responsible Solutions:
- SHARE Act Background Memo: H.R. 3668, Sportsmen’s Heritage and Recreational Enhancement Act
- Fact Sheet: Gutting Federal Regulation of Silencers
- Law Enforcement Memo: Protecting Public Safety and Gun Rights
- Medium Post: 5 Things You Need to Know about the Danger of Silencers
- Medium Post: Silencers Threaten the Safety of Law Enforcement,
- Medium Post: Profits Before Public Safety
- Public Opinion Research: Gun Owners See NRA as Out of Touch
Editorial Boards Speak Out Against Deregulating Silencers:
- “If the bill succeeds, ending the $200 tax and the vetting period, silencers will be much more available to the public. Inevitably, they will show up in the hands of the mass shooters who indulge macho fantasies in brandishing the adapted military assault weapons and large ammunition clips available in the civilian market. Before congressional lawmakers give in to the gun lobby’s latest twisted demand, they had better ask themselves why they would want to help muffle a shooter’s deadly deeds.” – New York Times Editorial Board[ NYT ; 03/24/2017]
- “Silencers are almost never used in murders and other crimes under the current restrictive law, but certainly they would be used in more crimes if there were more of them in circulation. And it is the general public upon whose behalf Congress is supposed to legislate, not the tens of millions who participate in shooting sports. Even a marginal increase in risk to the population cannot be justified, unless the harms to the minority from current policy are very severe and there are no means to reduce them other than the proposed legislation. In fact, the harms to shooters are modest — somewhat elevated risk of non-total hearing loss, essentially — and effective alternatives to silencers are readily available.” – Washington Post Editorial Board[ Washington Post ; 05/29/2017]
- “Silencers, supporters say, protect the hearing of sportsmen. But they don’t actually silence guns, all those James Bond movies notwithstanding. They only muffle them. And the National Hearing Conservation Association recently declared that silencers provide inadequate protection against hearing loss — recommending ear plugs or other protection even when silencers are in use. Lifting the restrictions on sales, says Robert Spitzer, a political science professor at the State University of New York at Cortland and author of five books on gun policy, is really about boosting the fortunes of the gun industry. –The Boston Globe Editorial Board [ Boston Globe, 7/15/17]
- “But ShotSpotter is ineffective if shooters use gun silencers, devices that muffle the sound of gunfire when they are attached to a gun’s barrel. Silencers also further imperil innocent people at a shooting scene because they can’t hear the crack of the gun that tells them to get out of the way.” –Chicago Sun Times Editorial Board [ Sun Times, 01/23/17]