{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://watsoncoleman.house.gov/newsroom/press-releases/menendez-watson-coleman-reintroduce-gun-safety-legislation-to-outlaw-gun-silencers", "Menendez, Watson Coleman Reintroduce Gun Safety Legislation to Outlaw Gun Silencers", "2021-04-15", "2021", "2021-04", "Democrat", "House", "NJ", "Bonnie Watson Coleman", "W000822", "watsoncoleman.house.gov", "watsoncoleman", "https://watsoncoleman.house.gov/newsroom/press-releases", "scraper", "U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) and Congresswoman Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-N.J.-12) today reintroduced the Help Empower Americans to Respond (HEAR) Act, federal gun safety legislation to ban the importation, sale, manufacturing, transfer and possession of gun silencers or suppressors.\n\n\u201cGun silencers are dangerous devices with one purpose and one purpose only \u2013 to muffle the sound of gunfire from unsuspecting victims,\u201d said Sen. Menendez. \u201cThe sound of gunshots is what signals you to run, hide, take cover, call the police and help others save themselves; however, this is nearly impossible when a gun silencer is used. That is why we must pass the HEAR Act, commonsense legislation that will prevent armed assailants from using these deadly devices to make it easier to shoot and kill another person.\u201d\n\n\u201cSilencers are not tools of self-defense, they are tools of murder,\u201d said Congresswoman Watson Coleman. \u201cThey have no legal application which is why law enforcement officials around the country have been calling for their elimination. The HEAR Act will save lives and is part of the common sense approach to firearms legislation that polls show has widespread support among voters on both sides of the aisle.\u201d\n\nSen. Menendez first introduced this piece of legislation in 2019 following the deadly Virginia Beach mass shooting, in which a gunman attached a suppressor to a .45-caliber handgun before opening fire in a local government office building where he killed 12 people and injured four more.\n\nAside from prohibiting silencers, the HEAR Act would also:\n\nAuthorize a buyback program for silencers using Byrne JAG grants;\n\nProvide individuals with a 90-day grace period after the date of enactment for individuals to comply with the ban;Provide limited exceptions for certain current and former law enforcement personnel, for certain Atomic Energy personnel and purpose, and for certain authorized testing or experimentation.\n\nThe HEAR Act is cosponsored by Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), and Alex Padilla (D-Calif.).\n\n\u201cGun silencers and suppressors are dangerous and don\u2019t belong in our communities. They hide the sound of gunfire from potential victims and law enforcement. Removing them will save lives,\u201d said Sen. Feinstein.\n\n\u201cThe only people who could reasonably oppose a ban on gun silencers are criminals trying to avoid detection by law enforcement or mass murderers trying to hurt as many people as possible,\u201d said Sen. Blumenthal. \u201cWhether a firearm is being used in a mugging or a massacre, the sound of a gunshot is a warning that helps bystanders get to safety and allows law enforcement to track and apprehend the shooter.\u201d\n\n\u201cSilencers present a grave risk of danger to our communities and law enforcement because it makes it difficult to ascertain the location of an active shooter,\u201d said Sen. Booker. \u201cThe HEAR Act is a commonsense solution that will help address our nation\u2019s gun violence epidemic by prohibiting all use, sale, importation, manufacture or possession of gun silencers. The time to act is now\u2013we can no longer allow for this disturbing pattern to continue in our country.\u201d\n\n\u201cSilencers don\u2019t just silence gun noise, they silence warnings of nearby danger,\u201d said Sen. Markey. \u201cWith roughly two million registered gun silencers across the country that inhibit law enforcement\u2019s ability to identify shooters and the public\u2019s ability to seek safety, the HEAR Act will ban these silencers and help put an end to needless gun violence deaths in the United States. It is long past time to pass commonsense gun safety legislation, and I am proud to support the HEAR Act as an important step in stopping this public health epidemic.\u201d\n\n\u201cGun silencers and suppressors have no place in our communities\u2014they threaten public safety and first responders,\u201d said Sen. Padilla. \u201cSilencers only increase the potential for more victims and greater tragedy during a mass shooting. Banning gun silencers is a commonsense proposal that could be the difference between life and death when faced with an active shooter.\u201d\n\nThis bill is also supported by Everytown for Gun Safety and the Violence Policy Center.\n\n\u201cSilencers are first and foremost a tool for criminals who want to shoot in secrecy and catch their victims unaware,\" said John Feinblatt, President of Everytown for Gun Safety. \"These deadly accessories have no place in American society, and I\u2019m grateful to Senator Menendez for introducing this legislation to prohibit them for good.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe Violence Policy Center (VPC) applauds Senator Menendez\u2019s efforts to ban silencers which are military-bred accessories that make it easier for criminals to take innocent lives. Manufacturers brag that silencers can make guns \u2018whisper quiet\u2019 while increasing shooters\u2019 accuracy and ability to fire rounds more quickly. These characteristics only make silencers more attractive to mass shooters, domestic terrorists, and common criminals. Senator Menendez\u2019s legislation is important to protect public safety,\u201d states Violence Policy Center Legislative Director Kristen Rand.\n\nA silencer, which is also known as a suppressor, is attached to the barrel of a firearm in order to \u201climit the sound, muzzle flash and kickback\u201d of a gun. Silencers pose a great danger to law enforcement officers and the public since they sometimes make it more difficult to detect the location of an active shooter. They diminish the effectiveness of gunshot detection technology deployed in many municipalities that rely on audio sensors to record the sound, time and location of loud noises. When silencers are used, the devices are sometimes unable to detect the sound of gunshots.\n\n\u00b7 In Virginia Beach, Virginia, on May 31, 2019, a gunman armed with a .45-caliber handgun fitted with a suppressor killed 12 people in a government building. One individual who survived the shooting reported hearing what sounded like a nail gun.\n\n\u00b7 In Jacksonville, Florida, in December 2017, police arrested a man for planning to \u201cshoot up\u201d an Islamic Center. He was charged with possessing a silencer not registered to him that he purchased from an undercover detective. The man texted the undercover detective saying, \u201cThe suppressor is not really that 'quiet' but it can be used on the 4th of July or New Year (sic) time, it can easily blend with the sound of fireworks\u201d.\n\n\u00b7 In Southern California, in February 2013, a former Los Angeles police officer killed four people, and wounded three others over the course of nine days. As police investigated, they wondered why nearby residents weren't reporting the shots. It turned out that, in an effort to conceal his murders, the shooter was using a silencer, which distorts the sound of gunfire and masks the muzzle flash of a gun.\n\n\u00b7 In Toledo, Ohio, in January 2011, a man fatally shot his coworker as he sat eating his breakfast in his office. No one at the office heard the gunshot and the victim\u2019s co-workers originally assumed he had died of a heart attack. Police later surmised that the killer had used a silencer.\n\nGun silencers have become one of the fastest-growing segments of the gun industry, which pushed accessories as gun sales level off. While several states, including New Jersey, outlaw gun silencers, they are permitted under current federal law, but must be registered. In 2010, there were 285,087 registered silencers, as of April 2020 there were over 2 million. A nationwide ban on silencers would ensure the devices are not trafficked into states where bans are in place.\n\nYesterday, Sen. Menendez also reintroduced the Keep Americans Safe Act to ban high-capacity magazines that can hold over ten rounds. Last month, he took additional steps to help combat the scourge of gun violence in America by leading his colleagues on urging President Biden to close the ghost gun loophole and reintroduced the Gun Records Restoration and Preservation Act, which would repeal the Tiahrt Amendments \u2013 provisions that severely hamstring law enforcement\u2019s ability to solve and prosecute gun crimes, stop illegal gun trafficking and hold negligent gun dealers and owners accountable, while also providing special protections to the gun industry that compromise public safety. The Senator has also supported previous efforts to ban assault weapons and pass universal background checks, and voted for the original Assault Weapons Ban in 1994 as a member of the House of Representatives.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T19:42:19Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://watsoncoleman.house.gov/newsroom/press-releases/menendez-watson-coleman-reintroduce-gun-safety-legislation-to-outlaw-gun-silencers"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 4.090558039024472, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}