by Joseph P. Tartaro | Executive Editor
The Sportsman’s Heritage and Recreational Enhancement (SHARE) Act with the Hearing Protection Act (HPA) added as an amendment is moving forward after passage by the House National Resource Committee by a 22 to 13 vote on Sept. 13.
The suppressor de-regulation bill known as the Hearing Protection Act (HPA) got a full hearing during the committee’s hearing and pro-gun and anti-gun witnesses testified and opponents of the amendment in the House and the Senate made no bones about their opposition.
Opponents of the HPA argued that removing suppressors from the National Firearms Act jeopardizes public safety.
“Silencers mask the sound of a gun, changing the sound into one not easily recognized as gunfire. As a result, ambush-style murders become easier, and bystanders may not know to alert first responders,” said David Chipman, a policy adviser for the pro-gun control organization Americans for Responsible Solutions. Chipman is a former agent of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, who was invited by the Democrat opponents.
However, supporters of the HPA shot down these complaints, pointing out that criminals already have access to suppressors and that the current restrictions only keep responsible citizens from using them.
“It’s easy to make a suppressor. If you want to make one now you can do it and a person who would not be dissuaded from committing a murder by capital punishment potentially is not going to worry about a National Firearms Act conviction for non-registration of a suppressor,” said Stephen Halbrook, a Second Amendment attorney and guest of Republicans supporters.
But after all the squabbling by the Democrats, the committee passed the SHARE Act to send it on to the full House of Representatives for a vote. Then, of course, it has to get through the Senate, which is narrowly held by the Republicans.
In addition to HPA, the SHARE Act also provides for:
Assuring the future of hunting, fishing, and recreational shooting by increasing access to federal public lands;
Reforming of the Firearm Owners’ Protection Act (FOPA), which protects the lawful, legal transport of unloaded firearms;
Strengthening protections for carrying firearms on land managed by the Army Corps of Engineers;
Removing the undefined and antiquated “sporting purposes test”, which has opened the door to arbitrary government bans on some firearms and ammunition, and
Returning wildlife management of the gray wolf back to states adversely affected by rising wolf populations.
If the SHARE Act version which passed the committee is passed, it would resolve a number of questions which have faced gunowners and outdoor recreationists for years. Passage will not come easily if the anti-gunners can sell their fears to the public and Congress.
Everytown for Gun Safety, the gun control organization funded by Michael Bloomberg, was not pleased with the progress of the SHARE Act, specifically the HPA portion.
“Silencers distort the sound of a gun, and in the wrong hands, they put people’s safety at risk. NRA leadership and their friends in Congress have gone behind closed doors to try to prop up lagging gun sales by making it easy for anyone to buy a silencer without a background check,” said John Feinblatt, president of Everytown, a long time lackey of Michael Bloomberg going back to the latter’s mayoral days in New York City.
Almost immediately after the subcommittee vote, Sen. Kristen Gillibrand (D-NY) vowed to squelch efforts to enact the much anticipated Hearing Protection Act (HPA) in whatever guise it was presented.
“Law enforcement already has a hard enough job putting their lives on the line every day to stop gun violence in our communities,” said Gillibrand in a statement.
