Hi Wayners; Sorry, but I looked at the exchange carefully. The word "visible" doesn't appear, you must be thinking of something else. The proper name for what you call a "silencer" is a "suppressor". That works on sound, not on light. My guess is that the ATF uses the word "silencer" because at that time the federal government was composed of people who don't understand proper use of the English language, but who wanted to distinguish suppressors from flash suppressors.
Here's the wikipedia entry for "suppressor":
"A suppressor, sound suppressor, or sound moderator, is a device attached to or part of the barrel of a firearm which reduces the amount of noise and also usually the amount of muzzle flash generated by firing the weapon." ... "Sometimes referred to as a silencer, this term is a misnomer associated with "movie magic", as firearms cannot be "silenced" due to the pure physics of the projectile moving through the air."
en.wikipedia.org
Note the difference with the wiki entry for "flash suppressor":
"A flash suppressor, also known as a flash guard, flash eliminator, flash hider, or flash cone, is a device attached to the muzzle of a rifle or other gun that reduces its visible signature while firing by rapidly cooling the burning gases that exit the muzzle, a phenomena typical of carbine length weapons. Its primary intent is to reduce the chances that the shooter will be blinded in low light conditions. Contrary to popular belief, it is only a secondary benefit that the flash suppressor reduces the intensity of the flash visible to the enemy."
en.wikipedia.org
Feel free to go over to wikipedia and start an edit war, LOL. But the point is that he never used the phrase "flash suppressor" so when he wrote "suppressor" he clearly meant what some people call a "silencer".
Hey, unlike Washington DC, Montana is a part of gun culture. Read the Montana statue on firearms and their accessories that are made in Montana, and which talks about suppressors (but not silencers). Look in the "definitions" link:
""Firearms accessories" means items that are used in conjunction with or mounted upon a firearm but are not essential to the basic function of a firearm including, but not limited to, telescopic or laser sights, magazines, flash or sound suppressors, folding or aftermarket stocks and grips, speedloaders, ammunition, ammunition carriers and lights for target illumination. "
law.justia.com
Some other states with similar laws on the books (or being legislated) are Idaho, Ohio, South Carolina, Montana, Oregon, Tennessee, Missouri, Maine, Indiana, Virginia, Louisiana, Wyoming, Kansas, New Hampshire, Texas, Arkansas and Indiana but I got tired of looking there. From reading these, it seems that gun owners may have to keep their guns in the state where they got them but that 2nd amendment rights will be kept there. On the other hand, it's against the law of most states to transport alcoholic beverages across state lines (without going through some inconvenient paperwork and paying taxes to the state imported into) but people who live near a state line *always* seem to buy their liquor at the cheaper state.
You're dealing with people who know and care a *lot* more about weapons than you do and should simply admit that you read "suppressor" and thought "flash suppressor" because flash suppressors are by far the most common and you didn't know that the gun community calls a "silencer" a "suppressor". And you may not have known that sound suppressors are legal but require a lot of paperwork so you didn't pick up the meaning (like I did) from context.
You shouldn't feel embarrassed.
-- Carl |
