Press Release
Posted:
Washington – Today, Gun Violence Prevention Task Force Chair Mike Thompson (CA-04) introduced an amendment with 70 co-sponsors to stop Congressional Republicans’ proposal to spend $1.7 billion to make it easier for people to buy silencers, short-barreled shotguns, and short-barreled rifles. Read the amendment here.
“Congressional Republicans are bowing to the whim of the gun lobby by proposing we eliminate the $200 tax on silencers and easily concealable short-barreled rifles and short-barreled shotguns,” said Thompson. “We’ve regulated silencers and these guns for over 90 years for a reason. This tax was put in place in 1934 as part of a comprehensive effort to address their illegal use by criminal gangs.
“Congressional Republicans’ proposal to spend $1.7 billion to flood our communities with these firearms and make it easier for mass shooters and criminals to access these weapons makes our communities less safe. I urge my Republican colleagues to help us take up this amendment and strike down this ill-advised handout to the gun lobby.”
“Slashing taxes on silencers, short-barreled shotguns and rifles, and similar devices is a $1.7 billion gift to boost gun industry sales that will endanger law enforcement and our communities,” said John Feinblatt, president of Everytown for Gun Safety. “We urge every lawmaker in the House to put public safety ahead of gun industry profits and oppose this disaster of a bill.”
“The House must take up and pass this important amendment. For 100 years, Republicans and Democrats agreed on commonsense safeguards to keep silencers and short-barreled firearms from falling into the wrong hands. Unfortunately, President Trump and today’s extreme Republicans put gun lobby CEO donors ahead of Americans’ safety and are fighting to make it easier for dangerous people to get these weapons. The gun lobby freely admits this is the first step in their plan to remove all safeguards keeping gun silencers away from criminals. Passing this provision would endanger law enforcement and the communities they risk their lives to protect—and Republicans know it,” said Emma Brown, GIFFORDS Executive Director.
“We know what these weapons do. We’ve lived through the lockdowns, the sirens, the funerals. We’ve seen the aftermath up close. The House has a choice: pass this amendment, or keep rewarding violence with taxpayer dollars. Anyone who votes against it should have to explain that choice to the families left behind after their children are murdered,” said Jackie Corin, Executive Director, March For Our Lives.
“After the assassination of a public servant in Minnesota and a heinous sniper attack on first responders in Idaho, it is outrageous that Trump’s allies in the Senate have passed a bill that puts countless lives at risk to line the pockets of gun industry executives. Making firearm silencers and other uniquely lethal weapons more accessible will increase violence and enable would-be mass shooters and assassins. Brady vigorously supports Representative Thompson’s amendment to reverse this dangerous provision and safeguard the American public,” said Kris Brown, Brady President.
"Stripping silencers from the National Firearms Act is not reform—it’s a reckless gift to the gun lobby that will endanger law enforcement, embolden mass shooters, and silence victims before anyone can respond. Silencers are not tools of self-defense—they are tools of assassination. Representative Thompson’s amendment to reverse this dangerous provision from the Republican funding bill is critical. The House must act immediately to keep silencers out of the hands of criminals and domestic terrorists. We cannot allow Donald Trump and his allies to dismantle 90 years of bipartisan safeguards just to appease gun manufacturers and extremist donors. Lives are on the line—and Congress must choose the people over the gun lobby," said Po Murray, Chairwoman of Newtown Action Alliance.