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
Defending the Indefensible: Court Strikes Illinois FOID Card Law

News  

Tuesday, February 18, 2025

Defending the Indefensible: Court Strikes Illinois FOID Card Law

Lawmakers in Illinois have a long track record of irrational gun bans and restrictions based on the idea that public safety is best served by disarming criminals and law-abiding citizens alike, even if that means ...

NRA Statement on President Trump’s Executive Order Protecting Second Amendment Rights

News  

Second Amendment  

Friday, February 7, 2025

NRA Statement on President Trump’s Executive Order Protecting Second Amendment Rights

Today, the White House announced a new Executive Order to protect and expand the Second Amendment rights of all law-abiding Americans. This is the first action taken by President Donald J. Trump to carry through ...

Colorado: Semi-Auto Ban Mutates into Permit-to-Purchase Scheme After Midnight

Friday, February 14, 2025

Colorado: Semi-Auto Ban Mutates into Permit-to-Purchase Scheme After Midnight

Senate Bill 25-003 was amended well past midnight to not only be a near all-encompassing semi-automatic ban, but now includes a permit-to-purchase scheme reminiscent of Illinois' FOID cards.

Virginia: Gun Control Bills Pass General Assembly, Head to Youngkin's Desk

Friday, February 14, 2025

Virginia: Gun Control Bills Pass General Assembly, Head to Youngkin's Desk

It has been a busy week in Richmond, and not for the right reasons. The House has passed a slew of anti-gun legislation, and these bills will now be transmitted to Governor Youngkin's office

The Hearing Protection Act Introduced in the 119th Congress

News  

Wednesday, February 5, 2025

The Hearing Protection Act Introduced in the 119th Congress

U.S. Representative Ben Cline (R-VA-06) and U.S. Senator Mike Crapo (R-ID) recently reintroduced the Hearing Protection Act (H.R. 404/S. 364) in the 119th Congress. This commonsense legislation will give gun owners and hunters the opportunity to ...

Anti-Gun “Researchers” Face Harsh Reality

News  

Tuesday, February 18, 2025

Anti-Gun “Researchers” Face Harsh Reality

The reelection of President Trump is already paying great dividends for the Second Amendment, even at this early stage.  Beyond the obvious jettisoning of the most anti-gun administration to ever occupy the White House, we saw ...

Eighth Circuit Narrows Blanket Firearm Prohibition for “Unlawful User[s]” of Drugs

News  

Tuesday, February 18, 2025

Eighth Circuit Narrows Blanket Firearm Prohibition for “Unlawful User[s]” of Drugs

The U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark ruling in the NRA-supported case New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen (2022) continues to play a critical role in cases related to Second Amendment rights.

NRA Files Lawsuit Challenging Massachusetts’s Ban on the Possession and Carry of Handguns and Semiautomatic Firearms by Adults Under 21

News  

Second Amendment  

Friday, February 14, 2025

NRA Files Lawsuit Challenging Massachusetts’s Ban on the Possession and Carry of Handguns and Semiautomatic Firearms by Adults Under 21

Today, the National Rifle Association, along with the Gun Owners’ Action League, Commonwealth Second Amendment, Firearms Policy Coalition, Second Amendment Foundation, Gun Owners of America, and an individual, Mack Escher, filed a lawsuit challenging Massachusetts’s ...

Washington: Anti-Gun Radicals Spend Taxpayer Funds for Elaborate Gala

Friday, February 14, 2025

Washington: Anti-Gun Radicals Spend Taxpayer Funds for Elaborate Gala

Washington state anti-gun zealots continue to demonstrate their disdain for the right to keep and bear arms with their recent release of an unbelievable proposal this week.

Colorado: Senate to Attempt Semi-Auto Ban Vote Again Tomorrow

Wednesday, February 12, 2025

Colorado: Senate to Attempt Semi-Auto Ban Vote Again Tomorrow

It seems the anti-gun radicals of the General Assembly are hoping that "third time's the charm" for the vote on their semi-automatic ban.

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.