Only a handful of states require a permit to buy a firearm. A suppressor is equally easy to procure, and failing that, can be machined by anyone somewhat competent with a lathe. Won't link to it here, Youtube videos available with a quick web search.
Suppressors are not equally easy to legally procure!
Suppressors/Silencers are federally regulated by the National Firearms Act (NFA) and are treated similarly to machine guns and sawed-off shotguns (the import/manufacture of those are further regulated by later legislation).
From Wikipedia[1]: Private owners wishing to purchase an NFA item must obtain approval from the ATF, pass an extensive background check to include submitting a photograph and fingerprints, fully register the firearm, receive ATF written permission before moving the firearm across state lines, and pay a tax.
And I think you may have understated the ease of manufacturing. Especially if someone only needs to use it once and don't care about the legality.
That's basically propaganda and half-admits it on the site. There are almost no situations where you will not be buying your firearm from an FFL and you will have to fill out a background check form and have a waiting period.
The only private sales that happen are among criminals and within families. Regular people aren't going to risk the kind of charges that stem from misuse after a private sale. Certainly nobody with a legitimate business and livelihood to protect.
Florida resident, have bought one without filling out any paperwork. Concealed carry license was paperwork though. I guess we're haggling over the background check? Sure, I concede I had to give them a page of info with a copy of my FL driver's license.
https://www.fdle.state.fl.us/FPP/FAQs2.aspx ("Florida does not require a permit to purchase a firearm nor is there a permit that exempts any person from the background check requirement.")
Lol what? Neighbors and loose friends buy guns from each other all the time. In Michigan at least, you only even need a permit if it's a handgun -- rifles and shotguns don't require an iota of state involvement and as long as you're reasonably sure the buyer isn't a prohibited person, there's no real liability either.
>There are almost no situations where you will not be buying your firearm from an FFL and you will have to fill out a background check form and have a waiting period.
There is what the law says, and what people are physically cable of. I am being realistic, but you are free to challenge that realism with paperwork that can be ignored by folks who would seek out the hardware mentioned. There are laws against murder, how did that go today?
I am making observations of an operating environment, and don't hold strong opinions on gun rights and similar. More, "What am I dealing with as someone who has to live here?"
You need a metal barrel and bolt to contain the explosion and that's it. FWIW, you can make a single shot shotgun with two metal tubes and a nail. Traceability only matters if you recover the firearm.
It's still slightly impressive. The lobby of that hotel takes up half a city block and has many entrances and exits. There are lots of ways to get in that are not necessarily the front door.
If I were approaching this professionally I'd be waiting near the check-in desk or elevators.
Crazy, if true. Perpetrator knew many people in the area. Had to reduce the chance of raising suspicion. Although “silencers” (suppressors is the better term) are not very silent as depicted in films and tv, but do suppress the muzzle flash and suppress generated sound.
I guess in a crowded NYC, that’s just enough needed to escape the scene.
Suppressors don't just reduce the sound, but they reduce muzzle flash pretty dramatically. So it would help prevent someone from seeing the flash and knowing where the shot came from
In the interest of brevity, they're not called silencers, they're called suppressors since they don't "silence" anything like in a Hollywood movie. Typically a suppressor will reduce the sound signature of a gunshot from something like 140dBA to 110dBA. Still enough to cause hearing damage and be heard a quarter mile away.
The original use case was hearing protection. The modern tactical use case is that it makes it somewhat harder to tell where a shot came from. In almost no scenario does it actually make a gunshot quiet (maybe a subsonic .22).
You can load subsonic rounds in many calibers, but tbf the best and most convenient options are all embargoed from the US because of Russian sanctions.
Off-topic, but the US is, oddly, a bit of an outlier compared to some of our cousins on the other side of the Atlantic, where buying one can be an over the counter transaction. It's weird to be in a situation where the US is more restrictive in anything related to firearms, but I assume the European attitude is that it reduces nuisance when gun ownership is more regulated at the front end.
There is an enormous amount of theater in US lawmaking. “I’m doing something about the <X> problem.” (or even just “I proposed legislation that would have done something about the <Y> problem…”)
Crafting of US legislation has absolutely no basis in efficacy or data, it's entirely driven by the news cycle. Something attention grabbing (like a Mandalay) happens, something extremely specific from the headlines but largely secondary to enabling the actual crime (like bump stocks) are banned, then the whole thing is forgotten about
Only a handful of states require a permit to buy a firearm. A suppressor is equally easy to procure, and failing that, can be machined by anyone somewhat competent with a lathe. Won't link to it here, Youtube videos available with a quick web search.
https://brilliantmaps.com/buy-gun-map/
Suppressors are not equally easy to legally procure!
Suppressors/Silencers are federally regulated by the National Firearms Act (NFA) and are treated similarly to machine guns and sawed-off shotguns (the import/manufacture of those are further regulated by later legislation).
From Wikipedia[1]: Private owners wishing to purchase an NFA item must obtain approval from the ATF, pass an extensive background check to include submitting a photograph and fingerprints, fully register the firearm, receive ATF written permission before moving the firearm across state lines, and pay a tax.
And I think you may have understated the ease of manufacturing. Especially if someone only needs to use it once and don't care about the legality.
1: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Firearms_Act#Registra...
Availability examples:
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/illegal-gun-silencers-c...
https://www.ice.gov/doclib/eoy/iceAnnualReportFY2021.pdf
https://www.recoilweb.com/man-makes-silencer-with-3d-printer...
https://youtu.be/ekDs60QxmNE
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That's basically propaganda and half-admits it on the site. There are almost no situations where you will not be buying your firearm from an FFL and you will have to fill out a background check form and have a waiting period.
The only private sales that happen are among criminals and within families. Regular people aren't going to risk the kind of charges that stem from misuse after a private sale. Certainly nobody with a legitimate business and livelihood to protect.
Florida resident, have bought one without filling out any paperwork. Concealed carry license was paperwork though. I guess we're haggling over the background check? Sure, I concede I had to give them a page of info with a copy of my FL driver's license.
https://www.fdle.state.fl.us/FPP/FAQs2.aspx ("Florida does not require a permit to purchase a firearm nor is there a permit that exempts any person from the background check requirement.")
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> That's basically propaganda and half-admits it on the site
It is a simple page and I did not spot any inaccurate facts.
> There are almost no situations where you will not be buying your firearm from an FFL and you will have to fill out a permit.
I own 14 firearms and only 3 went through an FFL. Used firearms retain their value more than almost any other consumer good.
> The only private sales that happen are among criminals and within families
This varies from state-to-state. Some states allow private sale of individual firearms with no background check.
(... I wish I didn't have a reason to know this fact).
Lol what? Neighbors and loose friends buy guns from each other all the time. In Michigan at least, you only even need a permit if it's a handgun -- rifles and shotguns don't require an iota of state involvement and as long as you're reasonably sure the buyer isn't a prohibited person, there's no real liability either.
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go to a gunshow and see what you need to walk home with guns from there…
>There are almost no situations where you will not be buying your firearm from an FFL and you will have to fill out a background check form and have a waiting period.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_show_loophole
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A suppressor requires a federal tax stamp and (at least as of a few years ago) submission of fingerprints to the atf.
So is certainly not as easy as some states requirements for firearms.
There is what the law says, and what people are physically cable of. I am being realistic, but you are free to challenge that realism with paperwork that can be ignored by folks who would seek out the hardware mentioned. There are laws against murder, how did that go today?
I am making observations of an operating environment, and don't hold strong opinions on gun rights and similar. More, "What am I dealing with as someone who has to live here?"
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Don’t even need a proper gun. 3D print a ghost gun or the firing mechanism (I forget what it’s called) and suppressor. No traceability.
You need a metal barrel and bolt to contain the explosion and that's it. FWIW, you can make a single shot shotgun with two metal tubes and a nail. Traceability only matters if you recover the firearm.
And had been waiting outside for him for at least 20 minutes... certainly targeted.
Are there scenarios where the police could fail to investigate, knowing the reputation of the shaddy insurance?
If true crime podcasts have taught us anything, it's that police don't really need an excuse to do a shoddy investigation.
And maybe silenced? seems like professional hit from details so far.
We can't know that. There are plenty of avenues for a citizen to get a silencer, long range rifle, and places to train.
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I kinda doubt that. Suppressors aren't that hard to come by.
Yes, a professional's getaway vehicle is always bicycle.
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It's still slightly impressive. The lobby of that hotel takes up half a city block and has many entrances and exits. There are lots of ways to get in that are not necessarily the front door.
If I were approaching this professionally I'd be waiting near the check-in desk or elevators.
> The suspect is described as using a firearm with a silencer, the person said.
https://www.cnbc.com/2024/12/04/unitedhealth-cancels-investo...
Crazy, if true. Perpetrator knew many people in the area. Had to reduce the chance of raising suspicion. Although “silencers” (suppressors is the better term) are not very silent as depicted in films and tv, but do suppress the muzzle flash and suppress generated sound.
I guess in a crowded NYC, that’s just enough needed to escape the scene.
Suppressors don't just reduce the sound, but they reduce muzzle flash pretty dramatically. So it would help prevent someone from seeing the flash and knowing where the shot came from
In the interest of brevity, they're not called silencers, they're called suppressors since they don't "silence" anything like in a Hollywood movie. Typically a suppressor will reduce the sound signature of a gunshot from something like 140dBA to 110dBA. Still enough to cause hearing damage and be heard a quarter mile away.
They're called suppressors among gun nerds. But silencer is the standard term in American English.
If you have complaints about how language has evolved, you may contact Richard Stallman and ask him for advice.
It's less about complaining, more about explaining that it's still very loud.
> you may contact Richard Stallman and ask him for advice
the guy who eats his toenails? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I25UeVXrEHQ&rco=1
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The original use case was hearing protection. The modern tactical use case is that it makes it somewhat harder to tell where a shot came from. In almost no scenario does it actually make a gunshot quiet (maybe a subsonic .22).
You can load subsonic rounds in many calibers, but tbf the best and most convenient options are all embargoed from the US because of Russian sanctions.
1 reply →
Off-topic, but the US is, oddly, a bit of an outlier compared to some of our cousins on the other side of the Atlantic, where buying one can be an over the counter transaction. It's weird to be in a situation where the US is more restrictive in anything related to firearms, but I assume the European attitude is that it reduces nuisance when gun ownership is more regulated at the front end.
There is an enormous amount of theater in US lawmaking. “I’m doing something about the <X> problem.” (or even just “I proposed legislation that would have done something about the <Y> problem…”)
Crafting of US legislation has absolutely no basis in efficacy or data, it's entirely driven by the news cycle. Something attention grabbing (like a Mandalay) happens, something extremely specific from the headlines but largely secondary to enabling the actual crime (like bump stocks) are banned, then the whole thing is forgotten about
They are called silencers. It's the number one definition for the word in my dictionary.
Gun owners don't call them silencers. Movies call them silencers and non gun owners watch movies so that word has entered the lexicon.
But it's extremely incorrect-- suppressors don't silence guns. Suppressed firearms are still loud.
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In all seriousness: silencers are legally available in most states. It just takes a while for the paperwork to go through (8-10 months).
Though they are illegal in New York.
As are the guns themselves.
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