I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving and you stay safe out there on this Black Friday. Of course, you could skip the stores altogether and buy a Reload Membership for 20% Off your first year!
This week, we’ve got firearms silencer/suppressor news. The largest group of ear doctors endorsed the devices’ usefulness for preventing permanent hearing loss. I take a look at the avenues gun-rights activists might take to deregulate them and how likely they are to succeed.
Donald Trump’s new pick for Attorney General also has a mixed history on gun policy. She backed “red flag” laws and defended other gun restrictions instituted by Florida when she was that state’s AG. But, as Contributing Writer Jake Fogleman explains, there’s more to the story than that.
Then Jake explains the most recent development in Philadelphia’s losing fight to institute its own gun restrictions. Plus, Semafor’s Dave Weigel is back on the podcast to examine what the 2024 election means for guns. And there are a bunch of great stories down in the links!
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Major Medical Group Endorses Firearms Silencers to Prevent Hearing Loss
By Stephen Gutowski
Sound suppressors, often called silencers, help protect gun owners’ hearing.
That’s the conclusion one of the largest ear-doctor organizations, with more than 13,000 members, reached this month. The American Academy of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery (AAO-HNS) issued a position statement backing the use of the noise-reducing devices. It pointed to three different studies that found suppressors help prevent hearing loss.
“Sound suppressors are mechanical devices attached to the barrel of a firearm designed to reduce harmful impulse noise of firearms at its source,” the group’s statement reads. “CDC research has shown that ‘The only potentially effective noise control method to reduce [shooters’] noise exposure from gunfire is through the use of noise suppressors that can be attached to the end of the gun barrel.’ Suppressors reduce muzzle blast noise by up to 30 dB.”
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Analysis: Will Silencer Deregulation Happen Soon? [Member Exclusive]
By Stephen Gutowski
Donald Trump won the presidency, the number of silencers in civilian circulation climbed above 4.8 million, and a major medical group just endorsed their usefulness as hearing safety devices. But will any of that translate to silencer restrictions being relaxed in the coming months or even years?
Removing sound suppressors, often called silencers despite not truly silencing the sound of a gunshot, from the purview of the National Firearms Act (NFA) in order to make them easier for the average person to buy has been a top priority of the gun-rights movement for well over a decade now. As things stand now, anyone looking to purchase a suppressor would need to pass an FBI background check, pay a $200 tax to the ATF, and submit a registration of the device as proof of payment. Advocates want to remove most of those steps.
There are several avenues they could take to get to that endpoint. All of them may have received a boost this month with the help of a position statement from a major medical group backing their usefulness in preventing hearing loss.
If you’re a Reload Member, click here to read more. If not, buy a membership during our Black Friday Sale for exclusive access!
Trump’s New Attorney General Pick Has Mixed Record on Guns
By Jake Fogleman
Outside of the President himself, few roles in the incoming Trump administration will wield more potential influence on federal gun policy than the Attorney General. His latest pick has a complex history on the issue.
As the chief legal representative of the US Government and head of the Justice Department, the Attorney General (AG) will, among other things, oversee the primary regulatory agency for the firearms industry and direct how and which federal gun laws will be defended in court.
“President Trump will have an attorney general who will stop the weaponization of government against lawful gun ownership and who will prioritize traditional law enforcement by catching and punishing criminals,” his campaign promised the National Rifle Association in an October interview.
After initially tapping embattled former Florida House member Matt Gaetz (R.)—who withdrew from consideration just a few days after being proposed—President-elect Trump named Pam Bondi to replace him. Bondi served two terms as Attorney General of Florida from 2011-2019, where she championed some stricter gun laws but also occasionally fought against others.
Here’s a look at Bondi’s track record on guns and gun policy.
Podcast: Semafor’s Dave Weigel on What the Election Means for Guns
By Stephen Gutowski
This week, we’re looking back at the 2024 election and forward at the next administration.
To do that, we have Semafor’s Dave Weigel on the show. He joined us shortly before the election to discuss each campaign’s gun messaging. Now, he’s back to sort through what worked, what didn’t, and where things go from here.
You can listen to the show on your favorite podcasting app or by clicking here. Video of the episode is available on our YouTube channel.
Plus, Contributing Writer Jake Fogleman and I break down new gun polling data from Gallup. We also unpack data showing a shrinking gender gap, but a widening partisan gap, among gun owners. Finally, we wrap up with a pair of significant gun-related state Supreme Court rulings out of Pennsylvania and Iowa dealing with state preemption and the ability to restrict gun rights for persons with a history of being involuntarily committed.
Analysis: Philadelphia Gun Fight Sets Back, Doesn’t End Preemption Battle [Member Exclusive]
By Jake Fogleman
Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court staved off a novel new attack on state preemption laws this week. That’s a setback for gun-control activists nationwide, but it won’t be the end of the fight–even in the city that launched the latest offensive.
In a unanimous 6-0 decision, the heavily Democratic court rejected a lawsuit from Philadelphia that argued the state’s roughly 50-year-old statutory scheme prohibiting local governments from passing their own gun regulations is unconstitutional. The city argued that the state Constitution implicitly granted local officials the right to pass strict gun laws, but that interpretation didn’t persuade a single member of the court.
“Here, Appellants seek an interpretation of Article I, Section 1 of the Pennsylvania Constitution that would designate the individual right to ‘defend life and liberty’ not just as a collective right, but as a collective right to self-defense from private acts of gun violence, specifically by means of local legislation,” Justice Kevin Brobson, one the court’s two Republicans, wrote. “Simply put, Appellants provide no basis upon which to conclude that the right to ‘defend life and liberty’ set forth in Article I, Section 1 is so broad as to encompass such a right.”
If you’re a Reload Member, click here to read the rest. If not, buy a membership during our Black Friday Sale for exclusive access to this and hundreds of other stories!
Outside The Reload
Women and LGBTQ+ people take up guns after Trump’s win | The Guardian | By Manisha Krishnan
SCOTUS Schedules Arguments Over Mexico’s Lawsuit Against Gunmakers | Bearing Arms | By Cam Edwards
University of Wyoming trustees reject concealed carry on campus | WyoFile | By Maggie Mullen
How Gun Control Advocates View the Biden Presidency | The Trace | By Alain Stephens
That’s it for this week in guns.
I’ll see you all next week.
Thanks,
Stephen Gutowski
Founder
The Reload
