Donald Trump doesn’t like suppressors. At all. He told a reporter precisely that last week on the South Lawn of the White House before departing on Marine One.
“I don’t like them at all,” replied the president when asked by the reporter if “silencers should be restricted?”
Days later Trump took it one step further, telling Piers Morgan (of all people) that he’d contemplate a retroactive ban of the accessories like his administration did with reciprocating stocks in 2018.
“I’d like to think about it [banning suppressors]. I mean nobody’s talking about silencers very much. I did talk about the bump stock and we had it banned and we’re looking at that. I’m going to seriously look at it. I don’t love the idea of it,” the president said to Morgan during an interview on Good Morning Britain.
Suppressors have been in the headlines following reports that the Virginia Beach suspect used one in the May 31st attack on the city’s municipal center which left 12 people dead (ATF has not yet disclosed where or how the suspect obtained the suppressor).
GunsAmerica reached out to the American Suppressor Association (ASA), the unified voice for the suppressor industry, for comment on Trump’s distressing remarks in the wake of Virginia Beach.
“We vehemently oppose any and all efforts to ban suppressors,” Knox Williams, the group’s president & executive director told GunsAmerica.
“It’s clear that the president doesn’t understand the issue,” Williams continued. For starters, suppressors are regulated by established statute as opposed to bump stocks which were only approved via ATF opinion letters, explained Williams. Trump doesn’t have the legislative power to prohibit suppressors at the federal level. Only Congress has that authority.
Williams cautioned that while Trump may not be able to criminalize the possession of suppressors, he could make it very difficult to obtain one by pulling resources from the ATF and creating indefinite wait times. As it stands right now it can take up to 18 months to get a can.
“The ASA is working extremely hard to ensure that doesn’t happen,” said Williams. In fact, the ASA is hoping to make lemonade out of these proverbial lemons and take this as an opportunity to educate the president on the issue.
SEE ALSO: Does a Suppressed Pistol Sound like a Nail Gun?
“There’s a lot of ‘fake news,’ to use the president’s words, surrounding suppressors,” explained Williams. “We want to communicate to the White House that the media continues to misinform the public. We believe president Trump will be receptive to our messaging because in addition to having the facts on our side his own sons use suppressors and have supported deregulation in the past.”
It’s true. Don Jr. told SilencerCo in a 2016 interview that, “I love your product,” while also lamenting, “I can’t use it in the People’s Republic of New York.”
Jr. also said that when it comes to legislation like the Hearing Protection Act, which would remove suppressors from the National Firearms Act, his father is “obviously going to be for it” and that it wouldn’t make sense for the president not to sign it.
What Trump ultimately decides to do on the suppressor front is anyone’s guess. What is certain, however, is it would be incredibly stupid for him to push a ban before the 2020 election. Given that the gun community is already on guard following the bump stock fiasco, outlawing suppressors would all but ensure that he’d lose the pro-2A vote and, as a result, the election.
Since 2016, Trump has told gun owners the same thing at each NRAAM he’s attended, “I will never let you down.” I don’t know about you but I feel pretty let down as of late.
Ear damaging noise has always been a safety issue, unless of course your talking about firearms.
It’s time for All gun-owners to wake up to the fact that Trump is Not for us. We have all been fooled by this Swamp creature. Make No mistake about it, he is no better than the rest of the Swamp creatures. Who give a Shit that he doesn’t like suppressors????? Who the hell is he to dictate to us? He Acted like he was for the 2A and gunowners Only to get elected. He is the ame Filth as Wayne LaPierre. Time to WAKE UP America!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I have supported President Trump pretty much his entire stint as POTUS, please President Trump, don’t turn against the 2nd Amendment
Suppressors for everyone,,,, and not regulated is just another thorn in the side of the ATF.. Just like the bump stocks.. Gun industry always pushing the envelope. Hearing protection act my ass… Go buy a pair of ear muffs like 90% of the American Shooters do.. Those who buy the no see me suits an AR-15 a few thousand dollars of long lasting survival foods, ten thousand rounds of ammo, 30 round magazines taped together a fire starter instead of a bic lighter , an accessory to fit on the end of my rifle to reduce the sound and location and Im suppose to think you are the normal gun owner and the only pro 2nd amendment guy? and anyone who disagrees like myself and our President is against the 2nd amendment ?..Bull Shit..
Larry you are an idiot if you think that there should be limitations on our freedom. Just because you do not see a need for thing, doesn’t mean we do not want them, notice I said want because need is not a test of our freedom….I fought for our freedom and would like to be able to stay free!
Now you done fed the bloomberg troll,lol
Some of the comments here are simply idiotic. If you can put a coherent thought together, think where you
would be if Trump had not been elected. You might have your suppressors, but you likely would not have a
gun to screw them onto.
Think where the courts would be – especially the Supreme Court. Would you prefer that???
Do you actually think you would be better off with any one of the demoncrats that are now running for
president??? If so, go ahead and vote for one of them and see where you are in about five years.
I would gladly give up suppressors to see Trump in office for another four years and bump stocks were
simply a slick loophole to get around the full auto ban.
DT sr. doesn’t give a rat’s a** about suppressors, our constitution or the 2nd amendment but he does care about votes and the next election. Flood him with letters, petitions, and join ASA. He’ll change his mind at a whim if he thinks it’ll cost him.
The 2A has never been under more attack then now. Trump put 2 second Amendment judges on the Supreme Court , without trump doing that we would be finished. The left is coming for our guns PERIOD! The very thought of Biden , Harris, Warren, being elected should make all Pro 2A supporters shake. They already have banks to scared to do business with Gun dealers. The next election will determine who will select atleast 1 , likely 2 more judges . Trump is far from perfect, but so far he has made all the right calls when it comes to protecting our rights for the future.
I REALLY HATE TO SAY THIS
BUT DONALD TRUMP ABSOLUTELY DID A BAIT AND SWITCH
WHEN IT COMES TO OUR 2ND AMENDMENT
DONALD TRUMP YOU ABSOLUTELY FOOL ME ONCE BUT YOU ABSOLUTELY WILL NOT FOOL ME AGAIN
ESPECIALLY WHEN IT COMES TO YOU RUNNING YOUR MOUTH ABOUT OUR 2ND AMENDMENT RIGHTS
BECAUSE I REALLY DON’T CARE ABOUT ALL THE OTHER SHIT YOU DID
I ONLY VOTED FOR YOU BECAUSE OF THE SECOND AMENDMENT RIGHTS AND ALL THE OTHER GUN ACCESSORIES THAT YOU HAVE BAN AND THE ONES THAT YOU WANT TO BAN
UNLESS YOU KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT ABOUT GUNS AND GUNS ACCESSORIES AND DO WHAT YOU PROMISED TO DO
YOU CAN KISS MY OLD AMERICAN WHITE ASS
I MYSELF AS WELL AS HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE WHO VOTED FOR YOU ONCE
WILL ABSOLUTELY STAY HOME IN 2020
Stay home and take it in the shorts….now that’s a great idea! Get out and vote for the president. He did give us pro 2A judges and will not ban suppressors. He was just talking sh!t what he said he would take action….. Don’t forget, Hillary was your other option!!!
Vote R Trump and all R. Never vote dumbocrat ever again.
Somethings never change but look who want you and yours over and over. CYA is everything now to protect the guilty . showing everywhere too bad we don’t have 1849 rules and private citizens taking control of the law and hanging the guilty Kangaroo courts may be needed if government fails us o. The take down of Trump and government election
Your Caps Lock is on.
I ABSOLUTELY DO NOT WANT TO HEAR DONALD TRUMP SAYING ANYTHING ABOUT SAVING OUT SECOND AMENDMENT
BECAUSE I REALLY DON’T BELIEVE HE REALLY KNOWS WHAT THE SECOND AMENDMENT IS AND ALL THE DAMM THING HE HAS BEEN TALKING ABOUT
SOMEONE REALLY BETTER EDUCATE THIS NEW YORK ASS HOLE
WHO IS GETTING WORSE BY THE DAY TAKING ABOUT THINGS THAT HE ABSOLUTELY KNOW NOTHING ABOUT
PLUS HE IS PLAYING RIGHT INTO THE DAMM GUN CONTROL PEOPLE HANDS
WITH ALL THIS BULLSHIT TALK
THE SECOND AMENDMENT PEOPLE WHO PUT YOUR ASS IN THE WHITE HOUSE
WILL ABSOLUTELY BE THE SAME PEOPLE WHO WILL ABSOLUTELY STAY HOME IN 2020
YOU ARE EITHER OUR FRIEND ARE YOU ARE NOTHING MORE THAN ANOTHER NEW YORK LIBERAL DONALD TRUMP
AND YES I AM SAYING IT AGAIN FOR THE LAST TIME
I VOTED FOR DONALD TRUMP
BECAUSE OF THE SECOND
BUT TRUMP SONS BETTER DAMM WELL EDUCATE THEIR DAD REALLY QUICKLY
BECAUSE IT WAS THE SECOND AMENDMENT PEOPLE WHO PUT HIS ASS IN THE WHITE HOUSE
AND IT’S THE SECOND AMENDMENT PEOPLE WHO CAN ABSOLUTELY TAKE HIS ASS OUT OF THE WHITE HOUSE
THEY WILL JUST STAY HOME
IF DONALD TRUMP DON’T WAKE HIS ASS UP REALLY QUICKLY
ESPECIALLY WHEN IT COMES TO THE SHIT HE IS DOING
WITH THE BUMP STOCKS ALREADY
AND IF HIS ASS GOES AFTER THE SUPPRESSORS
IT’S OVER FOR DONALD TRUMP FOR A SECOND TERM
SO SOMEONE REALLY BETTER TELL HIS ASS
THAT IT ABSOLUTELY WASN’T THE LIBRARY ASS HOLES WHO WANTS TO BAN ANYTHING ABOUT GUNS
GOOD BYE DONALD TRUMP FOR A SECOND TERM ESPECIALLY IF YOU KEEP RUNNING YOUR MOUTH AND THINGS YOU ABSOLUTELY KNOW NOTHING ABOUT
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP REDEEM YOURSELF WITH THE SECOND AMENDMENT PEOPLE BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE FOR YOUR REELECTION
Your Caps Lock is still on.
I believe the ATF has one employee who processes all Form 4’s or whatever they’re called for the entire country. When the paperwork arrives at the top of the stack, he makes the same phone call to the same number in West Virginia that all FFL dealers call to perform the NICS check. Probably a part timer who works just a few hours a week. Now that the $200 so-called tax (actually unconstitutional license fee) is no longer that much of a burden for most people who’d want and can afford an NFA device, it’s obvious that the purpose of the photographs, fingerprints, paperwork, and delay is simply to discourage most gun enthusiasts from even beginning the process.
In most European countries, sound mufflers on guns are mandatory or at least as available as guns themselves. You wouldn’t run a chainsaw, lawnmower or motorcycle without one here.
The consensus of many conservatives is that Trump has been co-opted by the Deep State, or was one of them all along. Sanctions and military moves against Iran are raising the price of oil, the trade war with China is raising the price of consumer goods, and the threat of tariffs against Mexico is jacking up the cost of food. None of this is good for the American people in general. It’s not what we elected him for. But, when one looks at the motley assortment of clowns running on the Democrat ticket, where is a good, or even less evil choice?
On the other hand, if President Trump comes out forthrightly against suppressors, maybe the Democrats will send the Hearing Protection Act to his desk, just to spite him.
Anyone who says they don’t like a suppressor has probably never used one. My gun club has an outdoor covered firing line and the tamped down concussion from a suppressed rifle is a worlds apart from one that isn’t. The sound is still loud enough to need hearing protection, but I don’t get magnification of sound off the roof. I can only imagine it’s 100% better on an indoor range too. We should have known that eventually some crazy person would use one illegally. They said the guy was using more than one weapon and only one was suppressed, so any perceived benefit would be moot.
Trump supported the Clinton “AWB” in ’94 and I knew before election he was closeted anti gun, the longer he buddies up to Pelosi and Feinstein the more obvious it gets. He is NOT pro-2A, and the NRA does not represent the 2A anymore. GOA > NRA
I won’t be voting for Trump again.
So….if you are not voting for Trump, and I’m sure you probably didn’t vote for him in the last election, would you vote for shotgun joe?
it’s not necessarily an either/or deal. if you don’t like any of the candidates, don’t vote for anyone.
Not voting can be just as bad as voting for the enemy. Granted he’s not the best option for us but he’s a lot better than the alternative. I would rather see his dumbass in office for 4 more years than to see us in a civil W A R.
Exactly Greg. When you vote and do not like the lesser of two evils, just vote against the worse candidate. Otherwise, you might as well be a fudd. Your no vote is a vote for the left. If you want to disarm the the people you are a leftist. Just to name a few. Mao, Stalin, Hitler, Mussolini… all leftists.
Trump will never understand what makes America great because he is too tainted by his NYC tainted life. He will always react with his NYC feelings first. He will be replaced by someone that does NOT have roots with east or west coast, and hopefully no big city or hollywood belief about guns and supressors.
what’s that saying about walking like a duck and quacking like a duck? how long is it gonna take people to figure out trump is anti-gun? yet even the suppressor industry spokesman in this story is saying it’s not trump’s fault he talks just like a gun grabber, it’s somehow the media’s fault.
trump banned bump stocks. when the suppressor and concealed carry reciprocity bills were moving through congress in ’17, he didn’t lift a (twitter) finger in support, and they died. after parkland, he proposed gun confiscation with no due process. basically, f— the constitution. isn’t THAT the sign of tyranny we’ve all been on alert for?
this is a gun grabber’s track record. meanwhile, he’s making fools of the nra by saying he’s their BFF so he can get votes and campaign donations.
vote for this guy again in 2020 if you want, but don’t claim to be a loyal 2a supporter if you do.
I don’t think he will have much success banning suppressors without congressional action like he did bump stocks but I do think he can gum up the works on getting approval. I think he may have already done so by giving the ATF orders to slow down approvals. Look at how long the wait times are right now for form 4’s. They are running 9 months plus right now. That’s friggen ridiculous! I think we need to wake up some folks in Congress before this next election cycle. If gun owners or even every gun forum member on every site contacted their congressman once a month complaining about the long waits we have had getting approvals for something we purchased a year ago it would wake them up that we are getting riled about this. There is absolutely no good excuse in this day and age that an approval should take anymore than 30 days.
I can’t help but think that Trump’s half cocked comment about suppressors is part of a bigger plan to distract the sheep, verbally appease them for a moment, but then let the whole thing fizzle out while not doing anything about them? Just like all his crazy tweets when everyone calls him a dumb ass with no self control. He’s a smart guy to be where he’s at financially and as President. He has some of the most intelligent people in the country advising him. I think all that is a plan to get the gullible masses to focus on the proverbial flash bang while he does something else.
“It’s clear that the president doesn’t understand the issue,” Williams continued. For starters, suppressors are regulated by established statute as opposed to bump stocks which were only approved via ATF opinion letters, explained Williams. Trump doesn’t have the legislative power to prohibit suppressors at the federal level. Only Congress has that authority.”
When has anyone from NYC or that region been a friend to the Bill of Rights and the white majority since 1861? The Ivy League Coast is the enemy.
You don’t get it, Trump is playing 4D Chess and you guys are playing checkers!
Trump should learn what British do. My understanding is a suppressor is required for hunting and shooting, at least in some areas, to protect hearing and to be a good neighbor not disturbing others, and, they are one of the most strict gun control nations.
I agree with the President on many things. But sometimes, especially on Twitter, it seems like he has symptoms, not policies. Somebody needs to hide his phone.
Go to the White House website and sign the petition opposing a ban. Sorry didn’t copy the link. When I signed it it only had 10,000 signatures on it and we need many more.
Further, go to Whitehouse.gov and leave a personal message for Pres. Trump expressing your dissatisfaction with his new gun grabbing idea. Hopefully Don Jr. will talk some sense into their father…
https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/president-trump-do-not-ban-suppressors
Here’s the link to the petition…
Trump is a great President but on subjects he is ignorant to like guns, he makes shitty snap adjustments and follies of the mouth! He needs to refer to Don JR !
You lost me when you wrote he’s a great president.
Great President? He’s an accidental POTUS. An incurious, self-absorbed idiot that has ZERO personal ethics, That we agree Sow Hillary would be worse, that doesn’t even make him acceptable. I wish someone truly pro 2A would primary his ass.
First they came for bumpstocks, and I didn\’t care because I don\’t own one. Then they came for suppressors, but I don\’t own one of them either. Now they\’re coming for my \”sniper rifle,\” and there\’s nobody left to defend me
Another example of him not keeping his campaign promises on guns. Him changing his gun stance is about the only thing that could make me vote for someone else!
Every time that guy opens his mouth he betrays his ignorance of the subject at hand. I know tree stumps with more intelligence.
This is exactly what the government commies started by banning the Bump Stocks and no one said or did anything! It started a means, a means to change the wording of a accessory, which a suppressor is, a Bump stock was, regulation to turn an accessory into something else! Well here you go folks, you didn’t stand up for one accessory and now they’re coming for more, just like I said when the Bump Stocks were banned! You should have been stopping the Bump Stock ban but oh now you’ll say something! Hippocrates much?
I did write to President Bone Spurs about bump stocks and told him they shouldn’t be banned. I had never heard of them before, but I knew enough to know that when one thing is banned another thing is sure to follow. I also wrote to the comically named representatives about this, but as usual, my opinion, and that of many others, I’m sure, had no relevance to these parasites.
Lets go further back than that. When YOU had the chance to select a strong 2A presidenial nominee but YOU voted for this traitor. Don’t cry now.
We went by what he said, unfortunately none of us had a way to read this cuck’s mind.
A lot of people could read his mind. A lot of people knew he had been a proud democrat for a very long time before he started pretending to be a republican.
Get a grip. Trump says things he doesn’t mean all the time. Without the NRA and 2A voters he has no shot in 2020 and he knows that. He will walk this back. The guy is standing up to China, stopping the invasion from the south, and exposing the ridiculously corrupt left wing media. If you care at all about not only suppressors , but your basic 2A rights then you are an idiot if you don’t back trump. And suppressors have taken 9 months plus long before trump.
yeah he probably only knows the movie version of “silencers” least of all why the vast majority of gun owners want them but are too much of a hassle to get. He got briefed on the recent shooting using one and all of a sudden they’re evil. If we banned everything that one guy used to kill people we’d have to ban people. I am curious if the guy went through the hassle or just spent some time at the hardware store.
As I ponder purchasing a suppressor for a rifle under a gun trust I wonder if should wait until a positive determination is made by Trump to leave them alone. As time marches on Trump is turning out to be a fake defender of the 2nd Amendment
Jacque , what? We have not had such a Pro 2A President EVER! Your obviously new to this world , why don’t you vote for 1 of those 25 clowns on the left and see how far they take your concerns. We couldn’t get 22 ammo for a long time , why ? Obama !