from ssgmarkcr
I came upon this interesting article from CNN of all places and it
impressed me with its lack of bias, and as an example of how business
works to help a person to get what they want. My home state of
Minnesota is one of several states hoping to become the 40th state in
the union to allow its citizens to possess suppressors.
"Buying a silencer is legal, and they are more rigorously regulated by
the federal government than most guns. It can take nearly a year to go
through all the legal channels to buy a silencer. It's such a pain that
some potential buyers don't even bother to purchase one.
SilencerCo, a maker of silencers in West Valley City, Utah, has
launched an unusual service for potential buyers called EasyTrust.
For a fee of $130, SilencerCo provides legal counsel to help customers leap the hurdles required for silencer approval.
But
purchasing a silencer requires the applicant to mail or Fax a photo and
fingerprints to the ATF and to pay a $200 tax. The approval process for
most guns takes about 20 minutes, but for a silencer it can take nine
or 10 months.
To offset the tax, another silencer seller, Advanced Armament Corp. of Lawrenceville, Georgia, offers a $200 tax credit
to buyers. "Don't let a government-imposed tax stop you from practicing
your right to shoot safe & silent," says the company on its web
site.
The silencer market has been booming.
The civilian market for silencers soared 37% in 2013, according to the
most recent figures from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and
Explosives. The tally in 2013 was half a million, compared to 360,000 in
2012 and 285,000 in 2011.
http://money.cnn.com/2015/02/13/news/companies/gun-silencers/index.html
