Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand speaks at the Westchester County Democratic Victory Breakfast at the VIP Club in New Rochelle March 7, 2010. ( Photo: Ricky Flores / The Journal News)
This week, Sen. Kristen Gillibrand (D-NY) rammed a searing hot poker right into the collective eye of gun owners with her vow to squelch efforts to enact the much anticipated Hearing Protection Act (HPA).
The HPA would remove suppressors from the National Firearms Act, thus streamlining the buying process while also making them more affordable. HPA would mean no CLEO sign-off (for state’s that require it), no registration, no paperwork, no $200 tax stamp. Versions of HPA have been introduced in both the House and Senate.
“Law enforcement already has a hard enough job putting their lives on the line every day to stop gun violence in our communities,” said Sen. Gillibrand in a statement.
“We can’t make it more dangerous and more difficult by making it easier for criminals to obtain deadly gun silencers,” continued Gillibrand. “These deadly gun silencers pose a huge risk to our enforcement and our communities and I will do everything I can to stop this ill-thought-out legislation that would allow more criminals to get their hands on these dangerous weapons.”
Gillibrand is joined by New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, who also touted the putative dangers of suppressors — despite the fact that they’re outlawed in the Empire State and would remain so even if HPA were to be signed into law.
“Gang takedowns and innovative technology have been critical to the NYPD’s efforts to seize guns off our streets and drive violent crime to historic lows. Dangerous gun silencers stymie these effective tactics,” said Mayor de Blasio.
“We need stricter gun laws, not a rollback to the lax laws of the bad old days,” said de Blasio. “I stand with Senator Gillibrand, law enforcement officials and gun violence prevention advocates in keeping gun silencers out of the hands of criminals.”
The fear-mongering is in overdrive with these two! Both Gillibrand and de Blasio are talking outta their butts (“deadly gun silencers,” give me a break! There’s nothing lethal about a suppressor!). Suppressors are rarely used in crimes. Maybe 30-40 cases a year out of 75-80,000 federal criminal prosecutions, according to a study by the Western Criminology Review.
Moreover, the suggestion that technology that triangulates gunfire, i.e. Shot Spotter, in urban areas would be neutralized by the use of suppressors is unfounded. In fact, one article syndicated by Shot Spotter, states clearly that so long as the sound signature of suppressed gunfire is entered into the scanner database, the technology should work just fine.
Just as those who cried that the sky would fall with the expansion of concealed carry laws were wrong, Gillibrand and de Blasio are wrong for arguing that widespread suppressor use poses a threat to public safety. There’s no evidence to suggest that’s the case.
Can you imagine if we allowed a criminal with a gun in New York City to attach a silencer to their weapon? It'd be a dangerous mistake.
— Kirsten Gillibrand (@SenGillibrand) March 14, 2017
Because criminals (key word: criminals) in New York City obviously follow laws. 🙄 https://t.co/brYJmzcUXQ
— NRA (@NRA) March 14, 2017
But the opposite is actually true. There is proof that suppressors actually benefit the public by reducing noise pollution. Those who live in the vicinity of an outdoor gun range or those who live near public land during hunting season will certainly appreciate this boon from HPA. Additionally, suppressors also mitigate recoil and prevent hearing damage, another win for the millions of lawful Americans who exercise their right to keep and bear arms
Gillibrand’s vow to stop HPA is, therefore, nothing more than a political stunt to appease the anti-gun lobby.
I think Ms. Gillibrand, like child molester Bob “get’em while they’re young” Hernandez, watch movies and TV and can not separate fantasy from reality when it comes to “silencers vs. suppressors”.
Gillibrand is a typical leftist anti-American who knows about as much about guns, suppressors and how they work as I do about the large Hadron particle accelerator. She is using the standard democrat/Soros scare tactic to sell the American public on a non-existent threat. Vote this garbage woman out at the first possible opportunity.
>Leftists say that the legalization of suppressors will make it more difficult to trace gunshots, thus increasing gun crime.
>Studies show that suppressors reduce the volume of a firearm by 30db at most.
>Volume of firearms average at 160db.
Do the math.
In addition to the noise produced by expanding gases as a bullet leaves the muzzle of a firearm, there is also a loud “bang and crack” sound as the bullet exceeds the speed of sound on its way to a target. Even the diminutive .22 rimfire rifle bullet exhibits these characteristics as well as all high velocity center fire rifle cartridges. Suppressors (not silencers) reduce the sound somewhat, but don’t eliminate it. As a 20 year military veteran with substantial hearing losses in both ears, I appreciate the VA’s acknowledgement of the hearing disabilities I (and MILLIONS of other veterans) sustained during our military service. How much does the VA spend on hearing aids for me and other veterans who might have benefitted from suppressors being installed on our rifles. If suppressors could prevent an enemy from pinpointing a shooter’s location, the military would have been using them decades ago!
I believe the only effective way to deal with the gun-grabbers is to use mass media to publish the FACTS about gun related issues using full page newspaper space (where ever possible), bill boards located in areas where traffic is halted by stop lights giving drivers and passengers time to read the documented and foot noted FACTS to counter the ignorance being propagated by public figures. The major news media are not going to help therefore we have to ‘by pass’ an unfriendly press. Hire professional media help (provide them with cover names for their professional protection) to organize and coordinate “the attach on ignorance”. Currently our FACT based view point is ‘preaching to the choir’ and is not making much, if any, difference. With this approach we need to put together a solid base a financial support which is another subject. GET ORGANIZED.
Senator, you mention that law enforcement officers have a hard enough time on the streets without having this bill pass. I am a retired law enforcement officer who fully supports this bill. I don’t believe that it will impede the good work that officers do, day in and day out. Your using law enforcement officers in your argument against the bill insults me. Maybe you have a problem in NYC with guns and suppressors, but it ain’t like that here in the south. We can appreciate a little quiet time with a gun and a suppressor.
I agree, with 21 years o the job I can say most of my department is not against this legislation. Maybe she should talk to some real cops instead of the political buffoons they pick to be chiefs/commissioners.
…About time to get this Lefty, Liberal, anti-Constitution out of office!!,…..New York this traitor is taking away your rights, little by little, just Like Caca head Cuomo and Schumer the schmuck!!,…..This Bastards say the Represent you!!,…But they only represent Special interest groups, and they are all anti America!!,….
Senator Gillibrand was a state representative when she took Hillary Clinton’s seat. largely elected by upstate folks who knew and liked her – before this. She was a hunter with an NRA ‘A’ rating. Her Dem colleagues first gave her the gimlet eye as a traitor in their midst; she had to prove herself. Under the mentorship (if one can call the relationship between Mephistopheles and Faust) of Chuck Schumer, she did a hard 180 on guns, became a true ‘progressive convert,’ earned the public drool of her peers (more quietly, she is known as ‘Tracey Flick’ of the movie ‘Election’ for her icy blonde, unprincipled, naked ambition, and is being talked about for a 2020 Presidential run. Imagine a younger Hillary Clinton without the cross-eyes and family baggage…..
Everyone please listen to this guy. He hit the proverbial nail on the head. Out of all the posts I’ve read so far this one is spot on!! He obviously knows her history as well as I do. And upstate New Yorkers too. This biotch betrayed everybody that voted for her. And worse than that, most of the suckers who voted for her are still supporting her. Including the local news outlets (shocker). Another interesting fact is her husband was also an avid hunter and NRA member. I wonder how he felt about denouncing his own passion and hobby, all for his wife’s new career as a traitor.
I am willing to bet that there are no murder cases on the books, that are unsolved cold cases because a suppressor was used to muffle the shot.
Witnesses often say that they cannot tell from which direction a shot report came from.
People are murdered indoors and the neighbors never hear the shots, but other evidence solves the crime.
Therefore, as a point of evidence, hearing the shot doesn’t solve the crime anymore than not hearing the shot prevents the police and courts from finding, charging and convicting the perpetrator.
Yeah, she lost all credibility when she said “deadly gun silencers.”
Its as if these people are only able to give an output rather than adhere to input. A brick wall, if you will.
They continue to use the SAME argument as they do for every other anti-firearms statements. “It will make it easier for criminals to obtain these objects…”
Those remarks are so flawed that I refuse to believe that congress would even entertain such false claims. When the grossly exaggerated opinions of uneducated individuals become “fact”, and no one bats an eye, we have some major problems.
Just like a true totalitarian, if they don’t like something, they want it removed. It’d be like watching a TV program, if you don’t like what you’re watching, change the channel; don’t protest to have it removed. They feel they have the power to control our lives, that’s why they lost the presidential race, we were’nt having their “loon” candidate in charge of our destiny….
Typical female idiot that wants to be everybody’s MOM.
I think one of the problems in America is that there are way more woman then men running for civil posts.
They get elected or appointed and are just stupid know nothing cntus.
Look, I\’ve said it a thousand times but Americans are so brainwashed and intentionally dumbed down by the dark state Totalitarians that the anti-gun wing of the government vulture will okey-doke any so-called \’loosening\’ of the gun control agenda noose and really just tighten it more for the inevitable lynching of our natural in-infringeable liberties. It pitifully sad how they make fools out of all of us.The only way to get rid of a Constitutionally ILLEGAL NFA law is to Repeal and nullify the law COMPLETELY! No compromise, no stipulations and no back door NRA wheeling and dealing and calling a miserable defeat a huge success.Any background (aka illegal registration for future confiscation) checks on a piece of simple pipe which is nothing more than an accessory amounts to prima facie evidence that they don\’t want anything to neutralize their latest shotspotter technology now deployed under streetlights (also with NV face recognition cameras) when they declare a national state of socialized control over the country, by Martial Law force, if necessary. So right along with confiscating the firearms and ammo, they\’ll demand you turn over your supppressors, if you had a background check to buy it because THEY\’LL KNOW WHO YOU ARE!
Look, I’ve said it a thousand times but Americans are so brainwashed and intentionally dumbed down by the dark state Totalitarians that the anti-gun wing of the government vulture will okey-doke any so-called ‘loosening’ of the gun control agenda noose and really just tighten it more for the inevitable lynching of our natural in-infringeable liberties. It pitifully sad how they make fools out of all of us.
The only way to get rid of a Constitutionally ILLEGAL NFA law is to Repeal and nullify the law COMPLETELY! No compromise, no stipulations and no back door NRA wheeling and dealing and calling a miserable defeat a huge success.
Any background (aka illegal registration for future confiscation) checks on a piece of simple pipe which is nothing more than an accessory amounts to prima facie evidence that they don’t want anything to neutralize their latest shotspotter technology now deployed under streetlights (also with NV face recognition cameras) when they declare a national state of socialized control over the country, by Martial Law force, if necessary. So right along with confiscating the firearms and ammo, they’ll demand you turn over your supppressors, if you had a background check to buy it because THEY’LL KNOW WHO YOU ARE!
Well this retired police officer says hang this communist witch by her neck for treason and violating the constitution. Being democrat, SHE is criminal.
She probably has never touched a gun; and I doubt she has any concept of the effectiveness of a suppressor. One S Carolina congressman challenged her to come to his range for some education. I do not know what her response is/was. Even after the bill passes (I am thinking positively), I’ll have to see what price they will come down to, to see about purchasing at least 1.
Couldn’t agree more. Progressives, democrats, liberals ALL are constitutional criminals.
It sounds like she says they allow criminals to have guns in NY (illegal by all laws). It\’s already ILLEGAL for criminals to possess firearms, suppressors, handguns, shotguns, machine guns, etc. But no law has ever stopped a criminal from possessing or using or going or doing something illegal.
All with common sense know, criminals don\’t obey the law; they never have and never will. So removing suppressors or any item from the NFA will not allow criminals to have them.
It will only affect the Law Abiding Citizens; it would allow US to not jump through so many hoops and paying more to get one. .
This bill will NOT allow criminals to be armed, to have suppressors, or any weapon or sound deadening device for that matter. It\’s more of the left trying to scare people and mislead them.Crime has gone down since Concealed Carry was introduced back in the early 80\’s or so. More and more legal gun owners, more and more Law Abiding Citizens carry a firearm for self defense and crime has gone down.
Don\’t believe the left\’s lies. Owning or having guns in the house, or carrying firearms for defense doesn\’t make it more dangerous. You are actually safer and have more of a chance of surviving an attack from a criminal. A suppressor on your firearm in you home will save your ears if you have to defend yourself or family.
A suppressor on a firearm will reduce noise and complaints about noise at shooting ranges and in your yard or where ever you are allowed to shoot.Silencers/Suppressors are like a muffler. It doesn\’t make it totally silent like you see in the movies. It just reduces the noise to a safer level for your ears!Don\’t fall for the lies. Sign the petitions out there supporting the Hearing Act.
I wonder if the companies that build and sell suppressors support this legislation? They stand to sell a lot more “cans” but the price would be substantially less than they sell for now. I think public service announcements demonstrating the actual capabilities of these “silencers” would convince the public they are not like Hollywood’s version of silencer and are actually a tool to improve hearing safety.
When Kristen was first elected she was a little blond farm girl who was a supporter of the NRA. I think she was more surprised than anyone that she won and would due anything to keep that job. Chucky Shumer took her under his wing & told her what she had to due in order to keep that job. She’s following orders from above. The rest is history.
Her and Shumer… birds of a feather.
Exactly. By her very words she’s proven herself ignorant, and by association with Schumer she shows that she’s in the job to amass as much power, money and notoriety as possible – certainly not there to serve her constituents. If we were to fire all of the politicians who are low life idiots, we’d have no one left. Every election cycle I think “…maybe the thieves and morons will be voted out…” and every announcement of results I am incredibly let down.
I don’t think the statistics are correct on the number of cases involving the use of a suppressor in crime. I’m and FFL and a SOT, so we sell this stuff. Also do demilling of evidence gums. At one of the larger departments we get guns from regularly, the Evidence Processing Staff inquired of why so many oil filters are being collected as evidence. I clued them in on the “Solvent Trap” sellers at the shows. This never happened until this stuff was being peddled openly and under the disguise of being a “Solvent Trap”. If this bill passes, get what you want asap. When the pendulum swings the other direction and the dems have control, they will dismantle this and outright prohibit sales. Based on what Law Enforcement is seeing with the Oil Filter use as a suppressor, after a few years of legitimate suppressors being on the streets there will be plenty of crime stastics generated to support their case.
an oil filter is not the same…..not even in the same league as a suppressor. oil filter= $4.99; suppressor $899.00. performance of the oil filter is likened to a zip-gun…..compared to a science developed suppressor like a well oiled modern sporting rifle. There will always be people using 4 dollar filters…..just like there will always be people using zip guns or .25 cal pocket pistols….But ! Using a $900 suppressor in the commission of a crime is never going to be high statistical value. the cost of the suppressor, along with the required mounts on the rifle bring the cost to a price point; that most criminals won\’t pay. Most people who are going to pay for a good suppressor, rifle and mount combo already know the high cost of their acquisition….and those people are not out there using nickel and dime filters and cheap guns committing crimes.
This lady is a idiot plain and simple. She has no idea what she is talking about , a “silencer” or “can” is simple a tube shape chamber that reduces sound levels it isn’t a “deadly ” anything unless someone uses it as a club to beat a person with. heck it isn’t even a gun by any standards. Furthermore a silencer actual makes a gun less deadly as it reduces the bullets speed and therefore lethal range and further the more the impact effectiveness of a bullet. The NFA regulation is simply political votes, and a way to extort money and fees form the public by the government. These NFA regulation do absolutely NOTHING to prevent crime, they only extort money form the honest citizen and infringe the god given rights of the poor to middle class citizens who can’t afford to pay for a metal can plus the taxes and fees to get the governments permission for what the Government has no authority to regulate at all.
These Liberal Democrats need to grow up and get some common sense , Criminals /democrats (I’m not sure there is a difference) don’t bother to go though back ground checks they don’t buy guns legally and they don’t use silencers they want to make lot of noise to scare people. They don’t want to use a silencer that makes a weapon less effective. These liberal Democrats watch to many Hollywood rambo movies and are scared of anything they see in the movies even though they have no idea what it really is or does.
Another democrat, another NY misinformed gun hating liberal. When will they understand the rest of the Country doesn’t care about NY and its liberals.
You better start caring about NY and it’s liberals. If this movement towards getting rid of the electoral college and going to popular vote wins then states like New York, California and the other giant states will elect our President over and over.
True dat!!!
Can you imagine…..a world devoid of libtards and other assorted scumbag politicians…or at least a world without Gillidouche and DeBarfio.
This twit must Idolize Hillary douche bag clinton. She is even trying to look like her. I wonder if she makes those scary crack head faces like Hillary ? Yikes! Hey don’t forget to get rid of all of those killing Machines they call cars. They kill far more than guns.
im a retired NYPD OFFICER 23 YEARS we must make sure that these democrats don’t get away with this look back in the early 90’s when they redrew the district voting lines it was all done to ensure that a democrats would not be unseat from their post making it hard for a republican running for office to get elected [conflict of interest if i ever saw one] look at what deblasio and governor cuomo they have been trying to do the same at the state level i hope that the citizen in her district band together and vote these lying liberal leftwing politician out of office just as the country did last november. GOD BLESS PRESSIDENT DONALD TRUMP
Hey DeBungholio, you don’t stand with law enforcement on this one. 21 years on the job and except for some political butt kissing top brass law enforcement is not against the hearing protection act.
I don’t think “cans” should be available to the general public. Having fun, like skiing has some potential threat of physical harm. Criminals WOULD use these devices and to please the desire of many allows the few to abuse and perform criminal acts.
Because people like you are afraid that the general public might think the way you do. Well, that’s not the case. You are completely uninformed. The “general public” owns suppressors now and will go through the same background check as when buying a gun if HPA passes. Lastly, I really don’t care what you think.
Because criminals would then be quieter is your argument? More people are killed each year with kitchen implements than firearms, and I am not talking about blenders, so how loud are they? Once you allow any measure of “control” you are forfeiting your rights by degrees.
And one final note: More people are killed by cars each year than firearms. Are you anti muffler?
Robert, I own a “can”, to be specific, a silenco “Hybrid”. I invite you to come and share a shooting experience with me anytime it’s convenient for you so you may shot, hear, listen and learn about suppressors. Any tool is dangerous as long as the users intent is to do harm. Silencers ARE NOTHING Like you see in the movies, they are still fairly loud, the suppressor just brings it down enough to take that “crack” out of the bang. So please join me and maybe we squash all the misinformation about supressors.
You must be a special kind of stupid. Suppressors are so easy to improvise (and books and online info is so easy to obtain on the subject), that if there was REALLY a criminal problem with them it would be all over the news, since the liberal media never hesitates in trumpeting what sort of “evil weapon” was used to commit any given crime (no matter how inaccurate the description may be) in the name of furthering gun control (and boosting their ratings through sensationalism).
Robert what is being suggested is the removal of onerous unnecessary NFA regulations. Suppressors would still require paperwork and background checks as with a firearm purchase. Remember that suppressors quiet a firearm they don’t silence it. They also make it much less concealable therefore less likely to be used in a crime. Also don’t forget that this Act would not change the legality of suppressors. This Act would be a good thing.
She doesn’t want gun control. She wants total control the same as all the liberal self called progressives do. Where did this infestation of disease minded people come from? They are a cancer on the heart of our nation. Why have we not voted them out of office yet?
Out of the mouth of” babes ” comes the true….I think Not! Wake up women ! Enough guns laws on books…. what’s needed is enforcement of the laws…. send them to jail and hit their pocket books that we’ll curb gun crime!
You are so correct, why is it the rappers(or as I call these two losers “crappers”) Coolio and Snoop dog (more like speckled belly pup) not in prison. Both are felons and both have been caught with firearms AT THE AIRPORT! I thought federal law mandates mandatory 5 years in prison, yet these two morons are walking free. There are plenty of gun laws, let’s start enforcing the ones we have before putting any more on the books.
Gender ’empowerment’. They rely on being female to get where they want to go. And, of course, the lately effeminate men in our culture crumble and accommodate. Pheromone’s are an incredible thing, eh? Ah, it’s not nice to humiliate a female because of her ignorance so just let her have her way. Heck, might get laid. Woops. . .that’s sexist. Dang it anyway.
An anal of one, being all she can be! The ignorance of here statements clearly define the depth of her knowledge. If there was a Bill to allow prosthetic devices to handguns (making a AOW) to help the disabled, she would block it because that puts more firarms in civillian hands that can be stolen or abused!
“Can you imagine if we allowed a criminal with a gun in New York City to attach a silencer to their weapon? It’d be a dangerous mistake.”
What an asinine statement – put forth by a naive fool! AS IF, BY LAW, SHE HAS CONTROL THAT IS KEEPING THE WORLD SAFE! HOW ABOUT THIS KIRSTEN – DON’T ALLOW THE CRIMINAL TO HAVE THE GUN!!!
I like to think that – EVEN IN NY – enough Americans are SEEING THESE PROGRESSIVE TOTALITARIAN COMMUNISTS for what they truly are – AND WILL VOTE THEM AND THEIR FREEDOM SUPPRESSING IDEOLOGY OUT ON THEIR ASS!
KUETSA, I’m a New Yorker and I’m here to tell you that New York State will supress firearm ownership until the cows come home. As for Senator Kristen Gillibrand, she assured all of the upstate New York gun owners that she was pro-gun. She bragged about how she and her dad often went hunting north of Albany, New York. Gillibrand is a Democrat who succeeded Hillary Clinton as being a Senator from New York.
OK, how does she keep getting re elected, if she is such a anti-gun person? There are 8-million tax-suckers in New York City and at least 2-million more in Albany, Syracuse and Buffalo. That leaves approximately 6-million pro gun residents over the barrel. As if that wasn’t bad enough Charles Schumer, is the other senator from New York. I just had breakfast and I won’t risk writing about that Marxist.
Please allow me to apologize for these two pieces of work. Up to 6-million New Yorkers vote against these two clowns every election cycle. I’m thinking of a snowball’s chance in Hell here.
“Can you imagine if we allowed a criminal with a gun in New York City to attach a silencer to their weapon? It’d be a dangerous mistake.”
“Can you imagine if we allowed a criminal, communistic, dictatorial, progressive, representing New York City, to even become a Senator, much less attempt, through legislation, coercion, and mental instability, to INFRINGE on the taxpayer’s right to self-defense? What a dangerous and moronic mistake that would be !!! Impeach her immediately and replace her with someone who respects the American voter’s, God given rights !!!!”
No Surprise here…..New York STUPID again
These extremist politicians NEED to be taken out of office. They have no idea what the public wants….they only want something for their own personal gain…not for the people
… I have a feeling that this Senator is working for either the Chinese and/or the Russian’s because she leans so far to the left for gun control issues…
And George Soros