The gun lobby is throwing their weight behind a bill that will ease regulations on gun silencers, making them easier to obtain — and inevitably much more accessible to felons, domestic abusers, and people suffering a mental health crisis.

The gun lobby’s motivations to back such a bill are obvious. (Fewer regulations will lead to more sales).

Need proof? Check this out…

According to Donald Trump Jr., one of the benefits of legislation is “getting little kids into the game.”

Yes. Really.

He made the comment in an interview with a silencer manufacturer, but it wasn’t a one-off aberration. Look at some of these marketing images used by Silencer Co:

Yes, according to the gun lobby, the little girl on the left is having her voice “suppressed” because of regulations on the sale of silencers. It’s outrageous.

A study by the Violence Policy Center looked further into the advertisements. They found that silencers are touted as a means to “allow young children — who often are put off by the noise produced by firearms as well as the recoil generated when the weapon is fired — to use and possess guns.”

The 2017 catalog for Advanced Armament Corporation explains: By reducing turbulence as the bullet exits the barrel and reducing sound and recoil-spawned user flinch in the process, silencers work to help tighten your shot groups. For new or younger shooters, using a silencer means being able to focus on marksmanship fundamentals and enjoy the overall shooting experience with considerably more comfort.

Here’s the truth:

With fewer and fewer people buying guns, the corporate gun lobby needs to either sell more guns to people who have them, or they need to open up new markets. With this silencer push, they are making a concerted effort at “getting little kids into the game.”

Silencers have been regulated since the 1930’s under the National Firearms Act. Because of this regulation, it’s hard for criminals to get their hands on silencers, which explains why they are rarely used in crime.

But gun sales are down for the first time in a decade, and the gun lobby is trying to think of creative ways to improve their sales. One of those ways is to deregulate silencers because they want to make more money, it’s that simple.

It’s no secret that the NRA sees Trump as its ally. He was the first president to speak at their annual meeting since Ronald Reagan. In April, we released our report, Dangerous and Deceptive: The State of the Gun Lobby in 2017, outlining what the gun lobby expects as a return on their $30 million investment. Donald Trump Jr.’s affinity for hunting is an added bonus to the gun lobby, who is using the Trump family for all it is worth.

The bottom line: Marketing silencers to children is extremely irresponsible and misleading. Silencers don’t reduce the sound of gunfire enough to protect hearing — for children or adults — and are dangerous tools that allow criminals to disguise their location and ambush police.

Learn more about silencers:

Learn more about the Gun Lobby’s Agenda

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About Us: Led by former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and Navy combat veteran and retired NASA astronaut Captain Mark Kelly, Giffords has the strength and courage it will take to bring Americans together to find unity and challenge the forces that threaten our safety. At Giffords, we shift culture, change policy, and challenge injustice by fighting for the gun safety laws and programs proven to save lives.