Industry disputes study claiming suppressors ‘threaten public safety’

By Christen Smith

Photo of an Innovative Arms Slingshot TI silencer. (Photo: Silencer Shop/Facebook)
The Violence Policy Center, a Washington, D.C.-based gun control non-profit, released an updated version of its annual report in June claiming suppressors threaten public safety.
Dealers and other industry insiders, however, told Guns.com this week the study reveals little more than a misguided agenda to dissuade public support for the Hearing Protection Act — and suppressors, in general — through fear and misinformation.
“Whether you are outside or in a building, it does make a loud noise,” said Jeremy Mallette, social media director for Silencer Shop in Austin, during an interview with Guns.com Tuesday. “It’s grasping at straws to vilify responsible shooters who just want to protect their hearing.”
The VPC study recycles facts from its 2016 release, including a brief historical rundown of the evolution of suppressors from Hiram Percy Maxim’s 1908 Silencer device through their use in World War II, Vietnam and by special operations forces today in, “all sorts of sneaky ops, from dumping guards to out and out assassinations.”
What’s changed in the last 18 months for the center — and the rest of the country, for that matter — is the president and his willingness to sign legislation deregulating

Source: Guns.com