Democrats on Capitol Hill Introduce Ban on Suppressors

Signaling the agenda should polarity shift in Washington in the coming months and years, a group of House Dems has debuted legislation to outlaw suppressors.

Dubbed the Help Empower Americans to Respond, or HEAR, Act, the proposal would “ban the importation, sale, manufacturing, transfer, and possession of gun silencers or suppressors.”

Saying “Silencers are not tools of self-defense,” HEAR Act sponsor U.S. Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman, a New Jersey Democrat, argues such devices “have no legal application,” and her proposal is part of “a common sense approach to firearms legislation.”

Notably, suppressors are prohibited for consumer use in Watson Coleman’s state, one of just eight states with such a ban on private ownership. Other supporters of the bill at filing include Reps. Adriano Espaillat (N.Y.), Jahana Hayes (Conn.), Glenn Ivey (Md.), Sean Casten (Ill.), and Ed Case (Hawaii). As with Watson Coleman, all are Democrats, and, except for Hayes and Ivey, hail from states that outlaw consumer-owned suppressors.

The HEAR Act not only closes the door on future sales and possession, but also does not authorize grandfathering of any devices already in circulation, save for those registered to law enforcement or those involved in nuclear security or the transportation of nuclear materials. “Buy-backs” would be authorized 90 days after the bill became law, funded by the Byrne Grants from the Justice Department.

With now over 6 million suppressors in circulation and demand at a record high, any such relinquishment would be far-reaching and problematic. Further, with so many cans in the hands of law-abiding gun owners, an argument can be made that the devices are in common use and protected by the Constitutional right to keep and bear arms.

The bill is supported by gun control advocates, including the Newtown Alliance.

Under the current Republican control of Congress, the bill is unlikely to even get a hearing, much less advance.

While Watson Coleman, 81, has announced she is not running for reelection in 2026, odds are good that another progressive Dem will pick up the HEAR Act in the next Congress and beyond.