Bills
| 3.23.22

SHUSH Act: Should Gun Silencers be Deregulated at the Federal Level? (S. 1505)

Do you support or oppose this bill?

What is S. 1505?

(Updated April 27, 2019)

This bill — known as the SHUSH Act — would deregulate firearm suppressors (aka silencers) at the federal level by treating any person who acquires or possesses a silencer as meeting any federal registration or licensing requirements for that silencer. The $200 transfer tax on silencers would be repealed, and the bill would preempt state or local laws that tax the transfer of silencers. Additionally, it would allow qualified current and retired law enforcement personnel to carry a concealed firearm equipped with a silencer in accordance with state law.

Under current law, individuals are required to go through a registration process with the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) before acquiring a silencer which can take about nine months.

The bill’s full title is the Silencers Help Us Save Hearing (SHUSH) Act.

Argument in favor

Silencers protect the hearing of hunters and recreational shooters, and this bill would make it easier for law-abiding people to access them while keeping background checks in place to prevent them from getting into the wrong hands.

Argument opposed

Federal deregulation of silencers would enrich the gun industry and make it easier for silencers to get in the wrong hands, thereby threatening public safety by making it difficult for first responders to identify active shooters.

Impact

Individuals who would acquire and use a suppressor; companies that make suppressors; and state governments.

Cost of S. 1505

A CBO cost estimate is unavailable.

Additional Info

In-Depth: Sponsoring Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) introduced this bill to eliminate federal suppressor regulations:

“Suppressors can make shooting safer for the millions of hunters and sportsmen that exercise their constitutional right to use firearms every year. The current process for obtaining a suppressor is far too expensive and burdensome. Our bill would remove these unnecessary federal regulations and make it easier for firearms users to protect themselves.”

This legislation has the support of three Republican cosponsors in the Senate.


Media:

Summary by Eric Revell

(Photo Credit: gsagi / iStock)