It’s always disappointing when someone who is generally pro-gun fires off against an important part of the gun culture.
President Donald Trump’s recent tirade in which he condemned the ownership of sound suppressors was a nasty surprise for many Second Amendment rights advocates. Was the President merely reacting to the suppressor used in the recent Virginia Beach shootings? It’s hard to know exactly where he was going with his comments, but it could have potentially caused a setback for gun owners throughout the country — especially those individuals who appreciate the opportunity to use their silencers lawfully.
First Bump Stocks . . . and Now Silencers?
President Trump was elected by the gun-toting silent majority — individuals who felt their rights could be entrusted to someone who had similar sensibilities. The recent ban on bump stocks came together very quickly, and there is some concern that the Trump Administration will now consider a ban on sound suppressing technology.
While experts note that President Trump is unlikely to follow through with this type of ban, it’s enough that it’s being considered openly to make gun rights advocates a bit more nervous than usual. In more of his standard rhetoric, the President did note that he didn’t believe bans were the right answer because they could turn potential victims into “sitting ducks” who were unable to protect themselves and their families.
Blaming Weapons for People Problems
Yet again, the mainstream media is quoting Virginia governor Ralph Northam as he calls for an immediate ban on silencers in the wake of the Virginia Beach attack, where a disgruntled employee killed 12 individuals using a gun with an attached silencer.
Northam is also requesting that lawmakers tighten universal restrictions on firearms, banning high-capacity magazines, creating a universal mandatory background check in the state, limiting purchases to one per month, and even passing a law that enables law enforcement personnel or close family members to forgo the usual path of getting a court order to seize firearms from an individual who is considered to be a threat to themselves or others.
Although silencers are able to reduce the sound of firing a weapon, they are not truly capable of canceling all sounds that are made when a gun is fired. Hillary Clinton attempted to convince her followers on Twitter that “the sound of gunfire saves lives”, but again — there is no proof to that statement. This is simply a case of politicians sounding off against weapons instead of holding the individuals accountable for the poor decisions that they made in creating the situation.
Gun owners who use suppressors are already required by the National Firearms Act to register their silencer and pass a federal background check. Hopefully, President Trump will rethink his dislike of silencers, and instead go full force against the individuals who are seeking to limit the Second Amendment.
