The sound of silencer 'suppression'

Jacqueline Janes held a 300 blackout rifle at eye level, aiming at a target sitting far across a field speckled with yellow weeds.

She pulled the trigger the same way she has since she began shooting for sport in 2009, but something was different. The echoing pop from the gunfire was less intense because of a 9mm silencer attached to the rifle’s barrel – but it was still loud enough that she wore earplugs.

Nearly 100 people showed up to Knob Hill Gun Range last Thursday to practice using silencers, devices that have spiked in popularity in recent years to soften the sound of gunshots.

The American Suppressor Association held a demonstration on silencers – also called suppressors by proponents – in coordination with the National Rifle Association’s annual meeting and trade show in Louisville to address why the devices don't make guns silent, but hearing-safe.

Janes said the noise reduction makes a positive impact on the surrounding environment and the shooter.

“It can get uncomfortable and downright painful wearing ear protection for eight to 10 hours,” Janes said. “I still have scabs behind both of my ears from a recent shooting competition.”

But not everyone is sold on its use.

A report released in February by the Violence Policy Center states that silencers are too often used for criminal reasons. “Making these weapons available to the general public with far fewer restrictions will ensure that their use in crime will increase,” the report states.

Silencers are legal in 42 states for civilians who have not been convicted of felonies.

The number of silencers registered with the U.S. government more than doubled to 792,282 in February 2015 from 360,534 in March 2012, according to data released in July 2015 by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

ASA Executive Director Knox Williams said he was working for a silencer manufacturer in Georgia when he realized there was no group advocating on behalf of the silencer community.

At the time, silencer hunting was illegal in Georgia, as it was in all but about 15 states. He banded together with a few other groups to create the ASA.

Williams said most hunters don’t use protection in the field because they want to hear their surroundings. Therefore, every time they pull the trigger, they damage their hearing permanently.

Silencers have been regulated under the National Firearms Act since 1934, which requires purchasers to submit fingerprints and a photograph, pay a $200 tax and undergo a background check. It can take nine or 10 months to get approved for a silencer.

U.S. Rep. Matt Salmon introduced a bill – HR 3799 – last October known as the Hearing Protection Act that would expedite the processing time. It would eliminate the tax and treat purchasers as meeting any registration or licensing requirement of the NFA.

The bill has 73 co-sponsors in the House and has been referred to committee. But U.S. Rep. John Yarmuth, D-Louisville, said more important gun legislation needs attention.

“I’ll begin to worry about protecting the hearing of gun owners as soon as the NRA, gun manufacturers and the rest of the gun lobby begin to show some interest in protecting the more than 32,000 Americans who die from gun violence every year – including nearly 3,000 children,” Yarmuth said in a statement Thursday.

Josh Waldron, an ASA co-founder and CEO of SilencerCo, the largest manufacturer of silencers, said that once people become educated on the devices, there is essentially no pushback.

“We have had a lot of momentum, changing laws in states – allowing for ownership in more states, allowing hunting with suppressors in more states,” Waldron said. “We’ve had an average of 90 percent of the legislatures in our country vote ‘yay’ on our bills, which means it’s an extremely bipartisan issue.”

He said suppressors not only protect hearing, they increase accuracy since the reduced recoil causes less flinching.

“This is a safety device – a personal protection device – and because of that, there’s really no argument from the opposition,” he said.

But Kristen Rand, legislative director for the Violence Protection Center, said making them more easily accessible would endanger the public. She said the reason they are so seldom used in crimes is because the devices are regulated under the 1934 firearms act.

“Why do we want to change a system that’s working fairly well when we know (silencers) can be used in violent crimes,” Rand said. “Why do we want to make them available for the general public when they serve no real sporting purpose?”

Williams said he doesn’t think the amount of people misusing weapons will increase if silencers are more readily available.

Criminals are criminals, but the people who are out there using suppressors, buying them, are law-abiding citizens,” he said. “The most common misuse of suppressors are people who are illegally making them.”

Reporter Bobby Shipman can be reached at 502-582-7079 or rshipmanIV@courier-journal.com.