Scoop: Schumer targets Trump budget bill on gun silencers deregulation
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) will fight to strike a provision making gun silencers more easily accessible from the GOP's "big, beautiful bill," Axios has learned.
Why it matters: The House-passed version of the bill removes silencers from the National Firearms Act, scrapping a $200 customer and manufacturer tax on firearm silencers and wiping out federal registration requirements.
The gun silencer provision is just one part of a wide array of policies shoved into the GOP's mega budget reconciliation bill that Democrats argue violate congressional rules.
The process Senate Republicans are using only allows for budget-related items in the bill, in exchange for being able to pass with just 51 votes. Any policies deemed unrelated to the budget will be excised.
Schumer will argue the silencer provision violates that rule, and should be tossed out of the Senate's version of the package. He will rally gun violence victims and gun advocacy groups on Thursday to oppose the measure.
The big picture: Getting rid of the silencer regulations has long been a goal for grassroots gun groups, and the provision is supported by the NRA.
John Commerford, Executive Director of the NRA Institute for Legislative Action, applauded the provision passing the House last month: "This represents a monumental victory for Second Amendment rights, eliminating burdensome regulations on the purchase of critical hearing protection devices."
But silencers have been used in a number of mass shootings over the years, including a 2019 Virginia Beach shooting that killed 12 and a 2023 California shooting that killed 11.
Silencers are meant to reduce the sound, recoil and flash of a firearm. Democrats and gun control advocates argue the silencers make it harder for law enforcement to respond to an active shooter.
"There's a reason silencers have been regulated for nearly a century: They make it much harder for law enforcement and bystanders to react quickly to gunshots," said John Feinblatt, president of Everytown for Gun Safety, after the House passed the bill last month.
Between the lines: Schumer and Senate Democrats are turning to procedural challenges to cut away at the GOP's mammoth tax and spending cut bill.
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