Did Suppressor Company Work Against Removing Them from NFA?

Suppressors are NFA items, and there’s really not a good reason why they should be on the list. Yeah, I know the anti-gun fearmongering talking points and all that, but let’s be real here. They’re against anything that we might possibly want. These are the same kind of people who gave us Prohibition, and we all know how well that worked out.

And, honestly, the NFA is a holdover from the last time these morons had their way, so I don’t care what they have to say. We all know that suppressors are safety devices.

Unfortunately, House Republicans essentially gutted the effort to remove them from the NFA list and the best we’re looking at getting is the $200 tax stamp being dropped to zero.

But just on suppressors.

However, a rumor has been going around. The allegation is that a suppressor company is actively working to keep suppressors on the NFA list.

Jared Yanis over at Gun & Gadgets hit the high points in a video on Thursday.

Now, he doesn’t say anything definitive, only reporting what he’s hearing, as to whether Silencer Central is lobbying Congress to keep suppressors on the NFA list.

The argument makes some sense. Their business model is heavily influenced by the fact that they’re NFA items and thus tightly controlled. It’s entirely possible that they’ll lose a lot of market share if suppressors are largely deregulated.

Yanis also goes into the lobbying efforts made by Silencer Central that are strangely timed, considering all that’s gone on.

Over at Ammoland, John Crump reported on these allegations, naming the company specifically, including some mention of the lobbying efforts.

They responded to Crump, however, and said this:

Official Response from Silencer Central:

“Silencer Central is closely monitoring the ongoing congressional hearings surrounding the Hearing Protection Act (HPA). We have always been vocal supporters of the HPA, as well as the current proposed provision of a $0 tax stamp. Our priority has always been, and will continue to be, advocating for deregulation and 2nd amendment rights, while supporting any win we can get for our customers regarding their firearm and accessory ownership rights along the way. Regardless of the ever-changing regulatory landscape, we remain focused on delivering exceptional service and standing by the community we’re proud to be part of.” — Brandon Maddox, CEO, Silencer Central.

This statement marks the company’s first formal public response to questions about its lobbying strategy and its position on removing suppressors from the NFA.

Maddox’s statement is pretty definitive.

Crump also notes that Maddox has favored a different approach to the HPA, calling for what he described as a “crawl, walk, run” approach. However, that was also while Joe Biden was president, and his argument then was simply that Biden would never sign the HPA, which is fair.

It also doesn’t mean that because he favored that approach, then that he’d sabotage an effort to achieve more here and now when the odds are far better than they were then.

For what it’s worth, I reached out to Silencer Central on Thursday for comment–this was before I saw Crump’s story–and I haven’t heard back as of this writing. If I do, I intend to ask them follow-up questions about the lobbying efforts Yanis outlined in his video.

Now, I don’t know anyone mentioned in this post personally except for Yanis, whom I count as a friend. I can’t say anything about how trustworthy Maddox is because I don’t know him, so I’m going to err on the side of trust until or unless something new comes out.

If any company is working to undermine pro-gun legislation from within the firearm industry, we need to know who it is so they can get the Bud Light treatment, but we need more than rumors before we take that step.