House GOP advances bill that would make it easier for people to buy gun silencers

WASHINGTON — GIFFORDS, the national gun violence prevention group led by former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, condemned the advancement of the reconciliation bill out of the House Committee on Ways and Means that eliminated the $200 transfer tax on silencers that has existed since Congress passed the National Firearms Act (NFA) in 1934. Congress enacted this tax for specific weapons because of the magnitude of their dangerousness and the regularity with which they were used in crime.

Silencers, also known as “suppressors,” obstruct law enforcement efforts to quickly and effectively respond to active shooters since they make it more difficult to recognize the sound of gunfire and locate the source of gunshots. They also mask muzzle flash and reduce recoil, increasing the risk of multiple-casualty shootings. A silencer was used in the 2019 Virginia Beach shooting that killed twelve people. It has also been reported that the shooters in 2022 Tops Friendly Market massacre in Buffalo, New York and the 2023 Lewiston, Maine shooting that murdered 18 people, had tried to purchase silencers, but were denied. 

“It is unconscionable that during Police Week, House Republicans just advanced a bill that will make law enforcement’s jobs harder and more dangerous. When dangerous people get their hands on firearm silencers, people lose their lives,” said Gil Kerlikowske, GIFFORDS Board Member, a former police chief, and former commissioner of US Customs and Border Protection. “If House Republican leadership was serious about ‘backing the blue’ like they claim to be, they would make our public safety laws stronger, not weaken important provisions on dangerous gun accessories.” 

The National Law Enforcement Partnership to Prevent Gun Violence has warned “the widespread and uncontrolled distribution of silencers to an unwary civilian population, combined with the sheer number of firearms freely available in America, is a step in the wrong direction and will result in tragedy, including violence directed at police officers that will be difficult or impossible to investigate effectively.”