The Hearing Protection Act got gutted by the House Ways and Means Committee earlier this month. The salve offered to gun rights supporters? A reduction in the $200 tax stamp to nothing, but still all the headaches that come with suppressors being on the National Firearms Act list.
But the indications seem to suggest that may be changing.
As the Rules Committee met earlier--much, much earlier--today, there are signs of something good happening for gun owners.
A number of sources I've talked to who are working on this believe leadership will include a provision delisting silencers from the National Firearms Act alongside the provision eliminating the tax on them. The text bellow is just a placeholder for the final language, though. https://t.co/ffhxu0Zsx8
— Stephen Gutowski (@StephenGutowski) May 21, 2025
Gutowski's conversations mirror the rumblings I've picked up on, which means there's a strong chance this will make it into the final bill.
Now, normally, this would be a massive fight, and we'd have to worry about Democrats in the Senate causing problems. That's not so much the case this time around.
This time, the measures are part of the budget bill. Those bills cannot be filibustered in the Senate, which means there's no need for 60 votes. All you need is a simple majority, which shouldn't be that much of an issue.
Further, there are a lot of other things in the budget that are a lot more controversial, such as raising the SALT limit and cuts to Medicaid. Those are likely where Senate Dems will direct their ire. In fact, a lot of gun control groups are barely paying attention to the Hearing Protection Act. Sure, some have offered up tweets on X or the odd post on some other social media platform, but there's been no concerted effort visible to stop it.
Again, that's because too many eyes are being drawn in a different direction.
That's actually good news for the HPA.
Of course, not everything seems to be puppies and daisies. The SHORT Act, which would remove short-barreled rifles from the NFA list, doesn't seem to be making the cut. That's not great.
It's possible that the SHORT Act will get tacked on in the Senate, then we get both bills in reconciliation, but I'm not extremely hopeful of that.
Still, suppressors on the shelf at my local gun store would be a massive win and a positive step forward for gun rights. The fact that they'd also protect me and my family's hearing should someone decide to be naughty by entering my home, leading me to disabuse him of such actions, is just a massive bonus.
This is just the latest, but if you want to see at least part of this tortured journey, you should check out my piece on this over at our sister-site, Bearing Arms, where we cover all things Second Amendment.
In the meantime, I'm going to chill out and contemplate the peace and joy of a range day without ear muffs in 98-degree temperatures. Sure, I could use ear plugs, but those suck and with the right suppressor, I might not need anything.
Glorious.