Wait…what?

[woods89]

Those words are synonyms, at least according to a leading retailer that exclusively deals in them.

About Us – Silencer Central

Meet the Silencer Central team & expert staff, & learn about what makes Silencer Central one of the most trusted names in the world of silencers.

www.silencercentral.com

Yeah, why SIlencer Central and SilencerShop chose that terminology is beyond me. "Silencer" is misleading, IMO, to folks who aren't knowledgeable about them.

 

[Dos Perros]

The way the media reported the event suggested that, if Robert Card had just lied on the federal form by checking "no" to the mental institution question, he could have walked out with a suppressor.

What's the truth?

 

[Marbles]

He was hospitalized after submitting his form 4 and the form 4 was approved.

Maine gunman’s family alerted sheriff five months before shootings | Maine shootings | The Guardian

Concern over Robert Card’s mental health dated back to last summer after a training facility episode sparked an evaluation

amp.theguardian.com

In the end, as he answered truthfully, we don't know if his institutionalization was reported to NICS or not, many states do not report them.

 

[ScreamingPotato]

It would help if they got their terminology right, and called it a suppressor rather than a silencer, to start with.

I agree with you, however on the forms I just filled out picking a couple up they're called silencers, even the gun shop employee writes silencer on type and such when doing the 4473 forms.

 

[MNGrouser]

Seems to me the “Fact” that we have laws and procedures to keep weapons from mentally ill- but it didn’t happen Due to incompetent bureaucracy.

The guys family notified authorities…even telling them he had guns- they did nothing

The military had multiple cases of this guy saying he was going to shoot things up…he was committed to a mental hospital, etc- but no followup on taking his guns.

The Biden solution is to take guns from law abiding citizens- THAT will solve the problem- Not!

Right about the time the Democrats take all of our guns away we will have a huge uprising of all the illegal Hamas plants in the US that walked across the border due to another political policy fail on Border security and we will be left unarmed to defend ourselves. <face palm>

I am asking because I honestly don't know the answer. Do "authorities" in Maine have the ability to do anything? What you are talking about are (sometimes referred to as) Red Flag Laws. Not everywhere has them. The guy's family could have notified authorities and the authorities were powerless to do anything about it. Minnesota, where I live, just passed a version. We call it an Extreme Risk Protection Order (ERPO) here. There are still a lot of unanswered questions about how law enforcement will seize guns, what to look for, how to store them, how to avoid vindictive (unwarranted) abuse of the law, etc. The list goes on and on. The legislature thought they were acting to avoid "the next Lewistown" situation but did not think through how it will actually be implemented.

 

[MattB]

I am asking because I honestly don't know the answer. Do "authorities" in Maine have the ability to do anything? What you are talking about are (sometimes referred to as) Red Flag Laws. Not everywhere has them. The guy's family could have notified authorities and the authorities were powerless to do anything about it. Minnesota, where I live, just passed a version. We call it an Extreme Risk Protection Order (ERPO) here. There are still a lot of unanswered questions about how law enforcement will seize guns, what to look for, how to store them, how to avoid vindictive (unwarranted) abuse of the law, etc. The list goes on and on. The legislature thought they were acting to avoid "the next Lewistown" situation but did not think through how it will actually be implemented.

I read in an article which stated Maine has a "yellow flag law" which a state 2A group helped write. This sort of law has a higher standard to meet in order to be able to remove a person's guns than a red flag law. The burden on the state to remove weapons from those who are deemed at risk apparently must go through a judge, and the article indicated that his 2-week stay in a mental hospital did not elevate to the level of the sort of situation (there is a specific minimum legal threshold) that would have put the perp at risk of having his guns confiscated under the law.

There was a separate situation where his family and/or co-workers had reported him to the police who had gone to his home for a well check and potentially to attempt to remove his weapons but he was not there/did not answer. They also issued a state-wide alert on him a month prior to the shooting spree, but he was not located.

Edit: I hate to say it, but this sounds like as much a factor of the state having pro-2A laws as it does with anything state government did or did not do.

 

[Yoder]

I think the suppressor did not matter either way. It would have still been loud. In this day and age, everyone has a phone. I'm sure 911 was called by a bunch of people. This was also inside a building. How loud would it be outside? What if he used a handgun? That would be quieter than a suppressed rifle. The whole story is a bunch of nonsense to get people spun up about suppressors being legal. You should be able to buy them at Walmart. They used to sell them at hardware store before the NFA.

 

[EdP]

What's the truth?

Suppressors are regulated under the National Firearms Act of 1934. A person who may be approved to own a suppressor can "buy" one (ie: pay the store for it), but CANNOT leave with it until they fill out the proper application forms, get fingerprinted, have their info submitted to the ATF, pass a background check, and pay the $200 to get the required tax stamp. The background check waiting period is not insignificant (many months or more). One cannot simply walk into a gun store, fill out paperwork, get approved under the National Instant Background Check System, pay the store, and walk out with a suppressor.

 

[MattB]

@MNGrouser, here is an article from 2022 that outlines Maine’s yellow flag law. Maine tried to strike a balance between preserving due process and protecting public safety when writing the law.

This shooting spree is the sort of thing that can happen with a yellow flag law rather than a red flag law. The main differences cited between the two are that the family cannot directly petition the court to have an at-risk person’s firearms removed (only the police can [correcting a misstatement from above, both apparently would need to go to a judge under a RFL]) and there has to be a medical/psych evaluation done on the person by the state before their guns can be removed.

Maine's 'yellow flag' law could be a model for gun control, but legal experts say it has limitations

A Maine law has been described as a potential national model for keeping guns out of the hands of dangerous or suicidal individuals. But the state's so-called yellow flag law has only been used two dozen times in two years, and prosecutors say the law has both advantages and limitations.

www.mainepublic.org

 

[gabenzeke]

Yeah, why SIlencer Central and SilencerShop chose that terminology is beyond me. "Silencer" is misleading, IMO, to folks who aren't knowledgeable about them.

The inventor of them called them silencers. That's where the word comes from.

Sent from my Pixel 6 Pro using Tapatalk

 

[Cameron.25]

The inventor of them called them silencers. That's where the word comes from.

Sent from my Pixel 6 Pro using Tapatalk

The ATF also calls them silencers

 

[ScreamingPotato]

you probly think clips and mags are different things too

But a clip is actually different. lol

 

[MattB]

you probly think clips and mags are different things too

They actually are.

 

[woods89]

The inventor of them called them silencers. That's where the word comes from.

Sent from my Pixel 6 Pro using Tapatalk

Well, maybe I'm barking up the wrong tree. The folks I've hung out with who are familiar have always been fairly adamant that suppressor was the proper term. It has always seemed to make more sense, as they suppress sound, but don't totally silence it. Except, of course, for subsonic. I can say from experience that a suppressed 10/22 withs subs is ridiculously fun!

 

[Marbles]

you probly think clips and mags are different things too

A clip has a specific definition, so does a magazine.

A clip is a device used to store multiple rounds for insertion into a magazine (stripper clip, en bloc clip).

A magazine is a storage and feeding device (detachable box magazine, blind box magazine).

It would help if they got their terminology right, and called it a suppressor rather than a silencer, to start with.

Historically silencer has more weight, but as a technical description suppressor is better. They can also be called 'cans' or 'mufflers.' Original patents called them silencers and mufflers, but closely followed by a patent for a suppressor. Many laws refer to them as silencers.

Pedantically chasing terminology is pretty pointless, but I still cringe when rednecks say things like 'banana clip.'

 

[woods89]

Pedantically chasing terminology is pretty pointless, but I still cringe when rednecks say things like 'banana clip.'

This is true!

 

[Sled]

I agree with you, however on the forms I just filled out picking a couple up they're called silencers, even the gun shop employee writes silencer on type and such when doing the 4473 forms.

Are you having a hard time understanding how the term "silence" could be construed as "without sound"? If so, that's the problem. If not, you got taken by the marketing department and the old school terminology.

Anybody with an agenda who's the least bit intelligent can spin a set of facts into whatever direction they want and the public will but in hook line and sinker. That's why it's important to use accurate terminology to cut down on how easy things are to spin.

For the record, I'm a middle of the road guy. I'm not picking on you directly but I see the terminology as an issue now and down the road.

 

[ScreamingPotato]

Are you having a hard time understanding how the term "silence" could be construed as "without sound"? If so, that's the problem. If not, you got taken by the marketing department and the old school terminology.

Anybody with an agenda who's the least bit intelligent can spin a set of facts into whatever direction they want and the public will but in hook line and sinker. That's why it's important to use accurate terminology to cut down on how easy things are to spin.

You may be having a hard time comprehending the point that the ATF calls them silencers, so everybody else does too. Silencer is literally the correct terminology whether you like it or not. I get it, it sounds evil and dangerous, but that's what they're called.

Not to mention my 22lr with subs is flat out silent, without sound, so there's that.

FWIW I also call them suppressors because it's more accurate. My point is it doesn't matter what people think is more accurate, they are what they are and it's already been defined and we can't just go changing the name because we think it fits better.

 

[Geewhiz]

Evidently silencers make rifles so quiet that you can’t hear them fire even if you’re in the same room.

 

[Sherman]

Pedantically chasing terminology is pretty pointless, but I still cringe when rednecks say things like 'banana clip.'

Bro lost me at “pedantically”.