The Hearing Protection Act has been reintroduced to Congress by Rep. Jeff Duncan of South Carolina. The American Suppressor Association describe the Hearing Protection Act (HPA) of 2019 as “an enhanced version of previous” legislation introduced to Congress in 2015.

The HPA (2019) was introduced on the first day of the 116th Congress by Rep. Duncan who said:

The Hearing Protection Act is a commonsense bill that is important to all sportsmen and women across the country. Personally, I have experienced hearing damage from firearm noise, and I believe easier access to suppressors may have prevented much of this damage from early on in my life. Bottom line, this bill aims to fix this health issue that has already been addressed by many other countries. Now is the time to ensure sportsmen and women can have the safety and protection they need while hunting and shooting.

The previous legislation was introduced by Arizona’s Rep. Matt Salmon, who has since retired from politics. In January 2017, Rep. Duncan and Rep. John Carter co-sponsored the reintroduction of the ‘Duncan-Carter Hearing Protection Act of 2017 (H.R. 367)’.

In a press release Knox Williams, President and Executive Director of the American Suppressor Association (ASA), said that the ASA believes:

that citizens should not have to pay a tax to protect their hearing while exercising their Second Amendment rights. With anti-suppressor legislators now in control of the House, the path to passage of the HPA is now exponentially harder than it was before. It may take years, but we at ASA, along with Rep. Duncan and his tremendous staff, will not stop working until we get suppressors out of NFA where they belong.

The ASA explains that HPA (2019) broadly seeks equal treatment of suppressors and firearms and aims to:

remove suppressors from the onerous requirements of the NFA, and instead require purchasers to pass an instant NICS check, the same background check that is used during the sale of long guns. In doing so, law-abiding citizens will remain free to purchase suppressors, while prohibited persons will continue to be barred from purchasing or possessing these accessories.

The bill has not yet been registeredon Congress’ online archive but you can read the bill in full here.