Silencer Saturday #340: The SHUSH Act Reintroduced In Congress
There’s another silencer deregulation bill making the rounds in Washington D.C. The Silencers Help Us Save Hearing Act (SHUSH Act) aims to take silencers out of regulation under the National Firearms Act (NFA), among other things. This is not the first time a SHUSH Act has been introduced, and this iteration has some interesting changes.
Silencer Saturday @ TFB:
SILENCER SATURDAY #337: The HUXWRX FLOW 556 Ti Preview SILENCER SATURDAY #327: YHM Mounts & Muzzle Devices – Locking In The Bad Larry SILENCER SATURDAY #302: POI Testing With SIG SLH And SLX Suppressors SILENCER SATURDAY #306: The KAC QDC MCQ-PRT Ultra Compact 5.56mm Suppressor Silencer Saturday #339: SilencerCo’s Little-known A2 ASR Flash Hider
Disclaimer: NFA items like silencers are highly regulated. You can end up in prison if you break the law in this space. Please speak to a competent attorney if you need advice on your specific situation. I am not your attorney, and I do not and will not represent you.
Prior Efforts
The Hearing Protection Act (HPA) of 2015` was the first real attempt to deregulate silencers. Its premise was very simple. The NFA has its own definition of “firearm” and those “firearms” are subject to additional regulation:
“(a) Firearm. The term ‘firearm’ means (1) a shotgun having a barrel or barrels of less than 18 inches in length; (2) a weapon made from a shotgun if such weapon as modified has an overall length of less than 26 inches or a barrel or barrels of less than 18 inches in length; (3) a rifle having a barrel or barrels of less than 16 inches in length; (4) a weapon made from a rifle if such weapon as modified has an overall length of less than 26 inches or a barrel or barrels of less than 16 inches in length; (5) any other weapon, as defined in subsection (e); (6) a machinegun; (7) any silencer (as defined in section 921 of title 18, United States Code); and (8) a destructive device.” 26 U.S.C. 2845
The HPA’s approach removed “silencer” from this list. It did other things as well (like preempt states and other jurisdictions from banning silencers). Unfortunately for people who like silencers and being able to hear, it did not pass.
SHUSH Act
The SHUSH Act has a lot in common with the HPA. “Silencer” is also removed from the NFA, and states are prohibited from enacting their own suppressor prohibition laws. But it does a few other things as well. One change is the impact on tax stamps previously paid for. The SHUSH Act would return all tax stamp payments made in the two years prior to the enactment of the bill.
Another interesting change is around product safety regulation. The SHUSH Act would exempt silencers from regulation by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). The CPSC issues recalls for consumer goods like bicycles with handlebars that come loose and baby cribs that are too flammable. While those types of recalls seem logical, a politically motivated recall of all silencers would be a creative way to re-restrict silencers without legislative action. Given some of the recent lawsuits against gun manufacturers with related claims like unfair business practices or public nuisance, and this is not an unfounded concern. This provision of the bill attempts to get out ahead of such a move.
Will It Pass?
This is not the first attempt at the SHUSH Act. The 2021 version of the bill is similar in many respects but does not include the CPSC prohibition language. Earlier versions of the bill have all died in committee. Given the political realities of the legislative branch, it seems likely that this version will meet a similar fate. Surprises can happen though, and I could be wrong, but my best guess is that the SHUSH Act will get hung up in committee once again.
One of the unexpected second-order effects of the original Hearing Protection Act was a major downturn in silencer sales. I was working the gun counter back then, and many buyers put their plans for new silencer purchases on hold to see what would happen. That was not an unreasonable move, because why pay $200 for a tax stamp and go through the hassle of filing a Form 4 (on paper back them, because eForms were not in use) if those regulations were going away soon? However, the bill never passed, and those buyers eventually filed their Form 4s a few years later, having missed out on several years that they could have been enjoying the benefits of shooting suppressed. It was also surprising how many consumers came into the shop years after it was clear that the HPA was dead who still claimed to be waiting to see if it was going to pass.
This is a long way of saying it may not be a good idea to wait for the SHUSH Act to pass before buying a silencer. In the (unlikely) event the act does pass, that tax stamp would be refunded. If it does not pass, that time spent waiting to see what happens with the bill is time that could have been spent getting a stamp back. And with how fast some of those approvals are coming back, it is a good time to be going through the silencer buying process.