Free Republic

We’ve got some fantastic news for you folks, but it’s tempered a little bit, and that’s where you come in to help out. The Hearing Protection Act (HPA) recently passed out of the House of Representatives as an integral part of President Trump’s Big Beautiful Budget Bill. It is now on its way to the Senate to hopefully be passed in the budget reconciliation process. ... Given that bias, we have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to regain some firearm freedoms. Naturally, the leftist gun-grabbing ghoul lobby is losing its collective mind over this development, so they are going full fear-mongering mode...

The growing popularity of suppressors among both hunters and tactical shooters has brought increased attention to the various mounting systems available on the market. When selecting a suppressor, the mounting system is a critical consideration that directly impacts performance, convenience, and versatility. The two primary mounting types—direct thread and quick-detach (QD)—each offer distinct advantages and disadvantages depending on your specific needs and usage scenarios. This comprehensive comparison examines both systems through the lens of practical application, helping you determine which option best suits your particular requirements. Whether you’re a hunter seeking noise reduction in the field or a tactical shooter...

So what’s happening to the bill in the Ways and Means committee? We’d guess it’s realpolitik. It sounds like Cox and Rep. Kustoff have recognized that they have a snowball’s chance in Hell of passing the bill delisting suppressors and rather than throwing their hands up and saying, ‘Oh well, we gave it the old college try,’ they’ve decided to take a big step in the right direction.A tax stamp has cost $200 since it was enacted as part of the NFA in 1934. While inflation has whittled the real value of that away over the decades, it’s still not...

The Hearing Protection Act has been re-introduced in 2025. The act removes silencers/gun mufflers from the National Firearms Act and places them in the same category as rifles and shotguns. The introduced act does this by adding silencers/gun mufflers to applicable laws that now cover firearms, more specifically, rifles and shotguns, and removing them from the National Firearms Act.Hearing Protection Act has Of 2025In Title 18, United States Code, in section 922(b) —(A) in paragraph (1), by striking “shotgun or rifle” the first place it appears and inserting “shotgun, rifle, firearms silencer or firearm muffler”; and(B) in paragraph (3) by...

Governor Abbot has signed HB 1819 into law on May 26th, 2017. The law goes into effect on 1 September. The law makes Texas safe for silencer ownership if/when the Hearing Protection Act (HPA) is passed by Congress and signed into law by President Trump.  This is important because the Texas legislature only meets every two years. The law removes silencers from the list of devices that are required to be on the BATF registry for NFA items, only requiring that people who own, manufacturer, transport, repair, or sell silencers in Texas be in compliance with federal law. From...

A bill in the Tennessee Legislature to remove the ban on gun mufflers (silencers, suppressors) has passed the senate with an overwhelming vote, 28-1 on April 3rd, 2017.SB 921 is the companion to HB 0011 in the House. The bill simply  removes  the sections of Tennessee statutes that define and include “silencers” as prohibited weapons. Here is the summary of the bill. From legiscan.com: As introduced, enacts the “Tennessee Hearing Protection Act,” which deletes the prohibition on possession, manufacture, transport, repair, or sale of a firearm silencer. – Amends TCA Section 39-17-1301 and Section 39-17-1302. Those sections would be...

U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy, a Connecticut Democrat, argues in a recent video about potential suppressor deregulation that it would be a danger to public safety. In a two-minute video short published by the Huffington Post this week, Murphy attacks the pending Hearing Protection Act as a piece of legislative charity to a flagging gun industry. “It will be a boon to the industry, but it will be terrible for the country,” says Murphy. “Silencers are used to commit crimes. They are used to conceal the fact that you are firing a weapon. There will be more crimes committed– more people...

The Hearing Protection Act (HPA) is the main bill now in the Congress to remove gun mufflers (silencers/suppressors/moderators) from the National Firearms Act.  The HPA is getting a lot of attention from the public, Congress and the media.  It has been the in the top ten of the bills viewed at the Congressional web site for many weeks.  For a while, both the 2015 version and the 2017 version, which are identically worded, were both in the top ten. Josh Waldron, CEO of SilencerCo, was instrumental in getting the bill introduced into Congress.  He is one of the founders...

Arizona – -(Ammoland.com)-A “white paper“, written by the second highest ranking official of the ATF, has been obtained by the Washington Post. The date, official, and reforms mentioned, are all significant.  The paper was dated January 20th, 2017,  inauguration day.Ronald B. Turk is the author. The paper expresses “the ideas and opinions” of Mr. Turk. From the washingtonpost.com: The second-highest-ranking official at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives has written a proposal to reduce gun regulations, including examining a possible end to the ban on importing assault weapons into the United States. The “white paper” by Ronald B....

Arizona – -(Ammoland.com)- On January 9th, 2017, the new Hearing Protection Act (HPA), H.R. 367, was reintroduced into the 115th Congress (2017-2018).  It was introduced by Representative Jeff Duncan (R-SC-3).  It started with 40 co-sponsors. The HPA, unlike many bills, is short and concise. It takes silencers out of the National Firearms act, with its draconian regulation and $200 excise tax, and places them in the same category as rifles and shotguns.Here is the text of the  Hearing Protection Act of 2017, H.R. 367:A BILLTo provide that silencers be treated the same as long guns.       Be it enacted by...

During the 2016 presidential election, President Donal Trump emphasized his support for the Second Amendment. I do not recall that he ever mentioned gun mufflers, silencers, or the Hearing Protection Act. But the penumbra of his attention to the Second Amendment is having implications beyond his direct gaze. The President Elect is setting the tone, and people are falling in line. The Hearing Protection Act, or HPA, was filed by Matt Salmon of Arizona. Matt has been a stand up guy for he Second Amendment. Matt is retiring this year, but the HPA will go forward in 2017.  The...

In 1934, the Franklin Roosevelt administration was able to pass omnibus gun control legislation, with massive infringements on the Second Amendment.  It was the National Firearms Act.  The law was primarily designed to eliminate the private ownership of handguns. That was too much of a direct assault on the Second Amendment for Congress, which removed handguns from the bill. The remainder of the act passed, creating a bizarre law with unintended consequences. For obscure and unknown reasons, gun mufflers, also known as silencers, or suppressors, were included in the act. Silencers immediately changed from being a $10 accessory, available...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The American Suppressor Association (ASA) is pleased to announce the introduction of the Hearing Protection Act (HPA) by Rep. Matt Salmon (AZ-05). This historic piece of legislation will remove suppressors from the purview of the National Firearms Act (NFA), replacing the antiquated federal transfer process with an instantaneous NICS background check. The HPA also includes a provision to refund the $200 transfer tax to applicants who purchase a suppressor after October 22, 2015. “The American Suppressor Association believes that citizens should not have to pay a tax to protect their hearing while exercising their Second Amendment rights,”...

Leaked letter reveals concern of neurologists over 25 deaths in America A warning that the new swine flu jab is linked to a deadly nerve disease has been sent by the Government to senior neurologists in a confidential letter. The letter from the Health Protection Agency, the official body that oversees public health, has been leaked to The Mail on Sunday, leading to demands to know why the information has not been given to the public before the vaccination of millions of people, including children, begins. It tells the neurologists that they must be alert for an increase in a...