Texas Removes Ban on
Gun Suppressors, "Silencers"
By Dean Weingarten. July 7, 2021
On 15 June, 2021, Governor Greg Abbot signed Texas HB 957 into law. The new law removes the Texas prohibition on firearm suppressors, commonly known as silencers or gun mufflers. From the bill:
"Firearm suppressor" means any device designed, made, or adapted to muffle the report of a firearm.
From the legislative history, it appears silencers, suppressors or gun mufflers were first banned in Texas in 1973. Although they were banned in Texas law, there was an affirmative defense from prosecution if the gun mufflers were legally possessed under federal law, as shown in this AmmoLand article from 2014.
As you can see, lawful registration in accordance with the National Firearms Act is a "defense to prosecution". In Texas, any "defense to prosecution" has to be disproven by the state beyond a reasonable doubt. If reasonable doubt is established that the item in question is properly registered, the state requires that the defendant be acquitted.
Texas changed the affirmative defense to clear law with the passage of HB 1819 in 2017. It removed the sweeping prohibition of silencers from Texas law, but granted sovereignty over silencer regulation to the federal government.
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It remains beyond time that suppressors are not only accepted by all states but also removed from the NFA tax stamp requirement. Resistance to change continues to be based almost entirely on Holywood hype and ignores benefits to safeguard people's hearing.
