CRISIS/GUNS/POLITICS: “The deadly mass shooting in Las Vegas renewed debate on Capitol Hill Monday [10-2-17] over a controversial bill in the House that would make it easier to buy gun silencers…
On Monday evening the top Democrats on two House committees with jurisdiction over the legislation asked House Speaker Paul Ryan (R., Wis.) to pledge that the bill wouldn’t come to the House floor.
The measure under discussion would make it easier to buy gun silencers, also known as suppressors, which reduce the average firearm noise from 165 decibels to below the level of 140 decibels.
The provision is part of a broader hunting and fishing bill sponsored by Rep. Jeff Duncan (R., S.C.) and meant to protect hunters’ hearing, supporters say. The bill’s backers said that suppressors diminish, but don’t eliminate, the noise from firearms…
Democrats said gun-rights supporters can’t argue both that suppressors are necessary to protect hearing, while also saying they wouldn’t have an effect on public safety…
The bill cleared the House Natural Resources Committee last month and was expected to come to the House floor soon, though a vote hadn’t officially been scheduled.”
-Kristina Peterson and Natalie Andrews, “Las Vegas Mass Shooting Renews Debate Over Gun-Silencer Bill,” The Wal Street Journal online, Oct. 2, 2017 08:08pm