[marktwain]

The government effective "ban" of suppressors though onerous licensing has been one of the worst public health policy decisions in the history of the U.S. government. Millions of people in this country have lost hearing capacity as a result. A simple device that should be sold for $50 is unavailable without extensive bureaucracy, a $200 license, and fingerprinting.

They should be freely available on the open market, like they are in Finland.

[bitterohiogunclinger]

I'm an avid gun rights advocate. The idea that “suppressors” would be or should be widely available is just plain wrong.
There is a safety factor with loud booming gunshots that alert others to the presence of active shooting, whether target practice, or hunting that can prevent persons from straying into a hazardous situation. I've witnessed numerous neophyte shooters at a public range start to head downrange to examine or replace a target without waiting for the range to clear first. Poachers would be in “hog heaven” if they were freely able to use suppressors to hide their activity. I concede that their use on a persons own property for the purpose of varmint removal has some merit. I really don't like the idea that “government stormtroopers” are exempted either.

[P8riot]

The government effective "ban" of suppressors though onerous licensing has been one of the worst public health policy decisions in the history of the U.S. government. Millions of people in this country have lost hearing capacity as a result. A simple device that should be sold for $50 is unavailable without extensive bureaucracy, a $200 license, and fingerprinting.

It's not a license, it's a tax.

[Billthedrill]

Largely it's sensationalism - the James Bond movies didn't help (on a related issue, how many people still think that a bullet through a jet's fuselage causes explosive decompression?) - but they're awfully clumsy on a pistol and you can burn through them pretty quickly. They vary in effectiveness - best I ever heard was on an HK MP-5, where it nearly was the "phut phut" you hear in the movies, but most of them are a lot louder than that.

Yes, it was a dumb decision to criminalize them. Like most gun control legislation it was written by ignoramuses, promoted by sensationalists, and passed by people who wanted to show they were "doing something" about "gun violence" even if it had no perceptible effect. Don't even get me started on the topic of bayonet lugs and pistol grips.

[bvw]

Thanks for a great article that makes a common sense point. The ATF is way off the mark on this issue.