GOP-led hearing on gun silencer deregulation canceled after today's shooting

After five people were shot today, including Republican House Whip Steve Scalise, during a morning game of baseball, a scheduled hearing that included the leader of the NRA to deregulate gun silencers was cancelled.

According to Think Progress:

The GOP-sponsored bill up for debate in the House Natural Resources Committee, the Sportsmen Heritage and Recreational Enhancement Act (SHARE Act), would have removed gun silencers from the list of items regulated by the 1934 National Firearms Act.

Silencers"-"also referred to as suppressors by the gun lobby"-"reduce the noise emitted from firearms. Under current law, they are regulated as strictly as machine guns and short-barreled rifles, but the gun lobby claims that these regulations are costly and unnecessary. They argue it's more important to protect law-abiding gun owners against potential hearing loss.

Opponents, meanwhile, claim that deregulation would lead to more gun violence.

"The proliferation of silencers would introduce a menacing new threat to our nation's communities and our law enforcement professionals," Sean Simons, deputy press secretary at Americans for Responsible Solutions, told The Trace.

But gun lobbyists need not worry. The Trump administration is working on making it easier for fugitives and people who are mentally ill to legally buy guns, and the hearing cancellation is really just delayed out of respect for those shot today. You can bet it'll be rescheduled.

Image: DickClarkMises