New Bill Would Ban ‘Tools of Murder’ Nationwide

Just when gun owners thought Congress might finally be moving toward treating suppressors like the safety devices they are, a New Jersey lawmaker is heading in the opposite direction.

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Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ) has reintroduced the Help Empower Americans to Respond (HEAR) Act, legislation that would ban the importation, manufacture, sale, transfer, and possession of firearm suppressors nationwide.

If passed, the bill would effectively criminalize ownership of more than two million lawfully registered suppressors currently possessed by Americans.

And that’s where things get interesting.

In announcing the legislation, Watson Coleman argued that suppressors have “no legal application” and described them as “tools of murder.”

“Silencers are not tools of self-defense, they are tools of murder,” Watson Coleman said in a statement.

That’s a claim likely to raise eyebrows among hunters, sport shooters, competitive shooters, and firearm instructors who use suppressors every day to reduce hearing damage.

Despite Hollywood’s portrayal, suppressors don’t turn firearms into whisper-quiet assassin tools. They simply reduce the report of a gunshot, much like a muffler reduces noise from a vehicle exhaust system. Even suppressed firearms typically produce noise levels above thresholds capable of causing hearing damage.

For that reason, suppressors are widely marketed and used as hearing-protection devices.

The congresswoman’s office pointed to the dramatic increase in suppressor ownership as justification for the legislation.

According to the release, there were approximately 285,000 registered suppressors in 2010. That number has now grown to more than two million.

We would argue that statistic demonstrates growing acceptance and lawful use rather than a public-safety crisis.

After all, if millions of Americans are legally buying, registering, and using suppressors while violent crime involving suppressors remains relatively rare, it’s safe to say they are hardly the menace they’re being portrayed as.

Watson Coleman first introduced the legislation following the 2019 Virginia Beach mass shooting, where the killer used a suppressor-equipped handgun during an attack that left 12 people dead.

Gun-control organizations have repeatedly cited the tragedy as evidence that suppressors pose a public danger.

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Most gun owners would argue that’s backwards. A product doesn’t become a “tool of murder” or a “public danger” simply because a murderer used it. Otherwise, every firearm, optic, magazine, and accessory would be one crime away from being banned.

The reintroduction comes as suppressors have become one of the hottest issues in the firearms community.

Congress recently eliminated the long-criticized $200 transfer tax that had been attached to suppressor purchases under federal law for decades. While registration requirements remain in place, gun-rights groups viewed the tax repeal as a significant victory.

Now, anti-gun lawmakers appear determined to reverse course entirely. Rather than debating registration requirements or taxation, the HEAR Act would go straight to prohibition.

That’s a remarkable shift considering suppressors have been federally regulated since the National Firearms Act was enacted in 1934.

The legislation has attracted several Democratic co-sponsors, including Reps. Adriano Espaillat, Eleanor Holmes Norton, Jahana Hayes, Glenn Ivey, Sean Casten, and Ed Case. That said, this bill probably won’t gain any meaningful traction.

Still, the bill serves as a reminder that suppressors remain firmly in the crosshairs of gun-control advocates despite their growing popularity among lawful firearm owners.

For millions of Americans who use suppressors to protect their hearing at the range or in the field, the HEAR Act isn’t a modest regulatory tweak. It’s an outright ban.

And if lawmakers ever needed proof that no gun-rights victory is permanent, this bill may be Exhibit A.

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