Explore The NRA Universe Of Websites

The Washington Post Gives Gun Control Group and U.S. Senator Three Pinocchios on Suppressors

Friday, March 24, 2017

The Washington Post Gives Gun Control Group and U.S. Senator Three Pinocchios on Suppressors

Last week, we wrote about Americans for Responsible Solutions’ irresponsible misinformation about The Hearing Protection Act on Twitter.  Apparently, we weren’t the only ones who took notice of ARS’s complete disregard for the facts on firearm suppressors.

On Monday, The Washington Post Fact Checker took a look at ARS’s tweet as well as a tweet by Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) about suppressors.  While the Post raised many of the same problems we did, its fact check further confirmed that ARS has no problem with lying to achieve its mission for gun (or in this case suppressor) control. 

Perhaps the most interesting part of the fact check came from ARS’s defense of its claim “You know what protections your hearing better than a silencer?  Ear plugs.”  According to the Post, to support this claim ARS spokeswoman Katie Peters supplied the Post with an article that showed an average of 30 decibels of reduction for commonly available suppressors. 

Even if ARS was unaware that earplugs and earmuffs should have their Noise Reduction Ratings substantially reduced using a derating calculation, citing a 30 decibel reduction for suppressors would still put them amongst the best available hearing protectors.  But, as we pointed out last week, in real world use earplugs only get about 50% of their stated NRR, so the 30 decibel figure cited by ARS is better than any available earplug once the derating formula is applied. 

The Post also addressed Sen. Gillibrand’s claim “When someone gets shot by a gun with a silencer, it’s quiet. Witnesses might not hear. Police will be less likely to track down the shooter.” To support this claim, opponents of the HPA relied on a favorite argument of anti-suppressor activists: that suppressors might limit the utility of ShotSpotter and other similar gun fire detection equipment.

Here the Post went straight to the source and found that suppressors do not pose the great hurdle for ShotSpotter that some have been lead to believe.  The fact check cited Ralph Clark, the chief executive of ShotSpotter, as stating “We have successfully if not inadvertently detected confirmed suppressed gunfire within our existing deployments. Although we have not formally tested the theoretical impact to our system, we intend to do some targeted testing in the near future. We believe we will have various options ranging from increasing our sensor array density to developing software/firmware to address the detection of suppressed gunfire if it were to become a widespread issue.”

In the end, the Post gave ARS and Gillibrand three pinocchios, which the Post describes as “Significant factual error and/or obvious contradictions. This gets into the realm of ‘mostly false.’” 

Don’t let lying anti-gun groups and politicians endanger the Hearing Protection Act. Please make sure your U.S. senators and congressional representative hear from you on this important legislation to protect Second Amendment rights and the health of the American gun owner. It is long past time to discard America’s antiquated and unsupported approach to suppressor regulation.

You can contact your member of Congress via our Write Your Reps tool by clicking HERE or use the Congressional switchboard at (202) 224-3121.

TRENDING NOW
Biden’s Executive Order Targeting Gun Ownership

News  

Wednesday, March 15, 2023

Biden’s Executive Order Targeting Gun Ownership

On Tuesday, Joe Biden issued an executive order on gun control that could accurately be described as a mile wide and an inch deep.

Columnist thinks gun owners can be shamed out of their rights

News  

Monday, March 20, 2023

Columnist thinks gun owners can be shamed out of their rights

At least one of the joyless scolds that predominate in gun control circles thinks they’ve stumbled onto a novel anti-gun tactic. According to Colorado Newsline Editor Quentin Young, gun control supporters should try to shame gun ...

Updates to ATF Final Rule on Stabilizing Braces

News  

Monday, January 30, 2023

Updates to ATF Final Rule on Stabilizing Braces

On Monday, January 30, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives’ (ATF) published the final Factoring Criteria for Firearms with Attached “Stabilizing Braces” rule for public inspection in the federal register.

U.S. Taxpayers Funding “Red Flag” Gun Confiscation Orders

News  

Monday, March 20, 2023

U.S. Taxpayers Funding “Red Flag” Gun Confiscation Orders

Texans are paying for so-called “Red Flag” gun confiscation orders in New York. North Carolinians are bankrolling Extreme Risk Protective Orders (ERPOs) in New Jersey. Louisianans are footing the bill for gun confiscation orders in Maryland.

Washington: Senate Committee Hearing California-Style Gun Ban & Waiting Period Bills

Friday, March 17, 2023

Washington: Senate Committee Hearing California-Style Gun Ban & Waiting Period Bills

On March 23rd, at 8:00AM, the Senate Committee on Law & Justice will hear House Bill 1240, a comprehensive gun ban bill, and House Bill 1143, to impose a waiting period and training mandate for acquiring ...

Florida: Senate’s Constitutional Carry Passes Committee

Thursday, March 9, 2023

Florida: Senate’s Constitutional Carry Passes Committee

Today, the Senate Fiscal Policy Committee voted 11-6 to approve Senate Bill 150, constitutional carry, with an amendment aligning the language with the House’s version. It will now go to the full Senate for further consideration.

The New Mexico Legislature Finishes Its 2023 Regular Session

Sunday, March 19, 2023

The New Mexico Legislature Finishes Its 2023 Regular Session

The New Mexico Legislature wrapped up at noon on Saturday, March 18.  Below is a list of gun control bills which passed and extreme anti-gun legislation which NRA-ILA worked to defeat with pro-Second Amendment lawmakers, members of the firearms ...

Michigan: Senate Passes Gun Control Schemes

Thursday, March 16, 2023

Michigan: Senate Passes Gun Control Schemes

Today, the Senate passed anti-gun bill packages to criminalize private transfers, require firearms be made unavailable for self-defense, and allow Second Amendment rights to be suspended without due process. They will now move to the House for further ...

Washington: Updates on Anti-Gun Bills

Tuesday, February 28, 2023

Washington: Updates on Anti-Gun Bills

Three major anti-gun bills still remain active in the Legislature, while others are likely defeated for the session. The NRA provided testimony and strong, united opposition to these bills throughout the legislative process thus far.

Florida: House Judiciary Passes Constitutional Carry

Tuesday, February 21, 2023

Florida: House Judiciary Passes Constitutional Carry

Today, the House Judiciary Committee voted 17-6 to advance House Bill 543, the constitutional carry bill. It will now go to the House floor for debate.

MORE TRENDING +
LESS TRENDING -

More Like This From Around The NRA

NRA ILA

Established in 1975, the Institute for Legislative Action (ILA) is the "lobbying" arm of the National Rifle Association of America. ILA is responsible for preserving the right of all law-abiding individuals in the legislative, political, and legal arenas, to purchase, possess and use firearms for legitimate purposes as guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.