TX AG Files Suit Challenging Federal
Regulation of Homemade Silencers
By Dean Weingarten. March 1, 2022
On February 24, 2022, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a suit against Marvin Richardson, acting head of the ATF, challenging the power of the federal government to regulate personally made silencers used for home defense in Texas, which remain in Texas.
The lawsuit follows the predictions made in a previous article on the subject by this correspondent. Here is the press release from Attorney General Paxton: From texasattorneygeneral.gov:
Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit against the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives seeking to stop the enforcement of federal regulations regarding firearm suppressors made in Texas. Texas House Bill 957, passed in 2021, expressly exempts from federal regulation firearm suppressors that are made in, and remain in Texas.
Federal law regulates firearm suppressors, making it illegal to own a firearm suppressor for personal use without paying a tax. It is also a federal offense to possess, manufacture, transport, repair, or sell a firearm silencer unless a person complies with federal guidelines [...]
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While this is state oriented here, the fight to ease restrictions and taxation on "silencers" (suppressors) continues. Whether used for defensive use or simply range practice, the protection afforded to hearing from sound suppression is indisputable and should not require either incurred expense or regulation.
