Sen. Cramer, Colleagues Introduce Bill to Improve Firearms Owners' Access to Hearing Protection Equipment

Press Release

U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND) joined Senator Mike Crapo in introducing the Hearing Protection Act (HPA), a bill to provide users of firearms better access to hearing protection equipment by reclassifying suppressors to regulate them like regular firearms. Currently regulated under the National Firearms Act (NFA), suppressors are subject to additional regulatory burdens.

"Anti-gun activists want to use the regulatory process to chip away at law-abiding Americans' ability to exercise their Second Amendment right. Our Hearing Protection Act would repeal the overly burdensome red tape placed for North Dakota's hunters, sportsmen, and firearms owners who use simple modifications to protect their hearing without stepping on state laws or removing background check requirements," said Senator Cramer.

On average, suppressors diminish the noise of a gunshot by 20-35 decibels, roughly the same sound reduction provided by earplugs or earmuffs. By further comparison, the most effective suppressors on the market can only reduce the peak sound level of a gunshot to around 110-120 decibels. According to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, that is as loud as a jackhammer or an ambulance siren.

If passed into law, the HPA would:

Reclassify suppressors to regulate them like traditional firearms.
Remove suppressors from regulation under the NFA.
Replace the overly-burdensome federal transfer process with an instantaneous National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) background check, making the purchasing and transfer process for suppressors equal to the process for a rifle or shotgun.
Tax suppressors under the Pittman-Robertson Act instead of the NFA, putting more funding into state wildlife conservation agencies.
Not change any laws in states that already prevent suppressors or get rid of the requirement for a background check.
Senators Cramer and Crapo are joined on the bill by Senators Jim Risch (R-ID), Joni Ernst (R-IA), Jerry Moran (R-KS), John Cornyn (R-TX), Roger Marshall (R-KS), John Boozman (R-AR), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Tom Cotton (R-AR), James Lankford (R-OK), Mike Braun (R-IN), Tim Scott (R-SC), Jim Inhofe (R-OK) and Thom Tillis (R-NC). It is also supported by the National Shooting Sports Foundation, the American Suppressor Association, Gun Owners of America, and the National Rifle Association.

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