--- title: Rep. Jeff Duncan: Why I Created Gun Suppressor Legislation description: South Carolina Rep. Jeff Duncan writes that gun suppressor technology would be more regulated if his legislation were to become law. canonical: https://time.com/4970280/jeff-duncan-why-i-created-suppressor-legislation/ author: Jeff Duncan article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-10-05T10:58:01.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T17:44:32.957Z article:section: Ideas og:title: Rep. Jeff Duncan: Why I Created Suppressor Legislation og:description: ‘We need to stick to the facts’ og:url: https://time.com/4970280/jeff-duncan-why-i-created-suppressor-legislation/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb35b0b485bd6a1a6/6988e0a6ab6d7756b46b013f/the-case-for-gun-suppressors.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2322 og:image:height: 1306 og:image:alt: las vegas, las vegas shooting, las vegas shooting weapons, gun rights, gun og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Rep. Jeff Duncan: Why I Created Suppressor Legislation twitter:description: ‘We need to stick to the facts’ twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb35b0b485bd6a1a6/6988e0a6ab6d7756b46b013f/the-case-for-gun-suppressors.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Rep. Jeff Duncan: Why I Created Suppressor Legislation > Sponsored content. 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It explains how TIME's journalism is made, from the first pitch through the editorial decisions behind a finished story or cover. #### How can I read about how TIME chooses its covers? Inside TIME is the newsletter where TIME's Editor-in-Chief explains cover selection and the editorial reasoning behind major stories. It is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who is the editor of TIME? Sam Jacobs is TIME's Editor-in-Chief. He writes Inside TIME, a twice-weekly newsletter about the newsroom's reporting and editorial decisions. #### Is Inside TIME free? Yes. Inside TIME is a free newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. A paid TIME subscription is separate and available at time.com/subscribe-agent. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-inside-2026q3/newsletters?i=b1ae136d-44ef-44ee-831e-ebf269f6aa37&cr=time-nl-inside-2026q3-v1) by [Jeff Duncan](https://time.com/author/jeff-duncan/) ## Jeff Duncan Oct 5, 2017 10:58 AM UTC  A window is broken on the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino where a gunman opened fire on a concert crowd on Sunday night, Oct. 3, 2017 in Las Vegas. A window is broken on the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino where a gunman opened fire on a concert crowd on Sunday night, Oct. 3, 2017 in Las Vegas. Drew Angerer—Getty Images by [Jeff Duncan](https://time.com/author/jeff-duncan/) ## Jeff Duncan Oct 5, 2017 10:58 AM UTC What happened that fateful Sunday evening in Las Vegas is beyond words. In the days immediately following the shooting, I intentionally avoided saying much, not because I didn’t have opinions, but because I feel that we as a society are often too quick to politicize a situation. The days after the shooting should have been spent grieving, coming together and looking for answers. Unfortunately that’s not what happened, and now I feel compelled to correct the record on some of the over-the-top rhetoric. As the Washington Post’s Fact Checker unit confirmed in 2015, practically none of the then existing legislation made a difference in recent attacks. That is particularly true when it comes to the left’s attacks on my sportsmen’s legislation (the SHARE Act), which among many other things reclassifies gun suppressors. Even though at the time of this writing, no suppressor has been found in the possession of the Las Vegas shooter, suppressors on weapons firing full-automatic, even simulated as in this most recent case, can cause significant challenges for the shooter, often making them unfeasible. The truth is that the only place a suppressor is silent is on a Hollywood soundstage. Hearing loss begins at 85 decibels (dB). A roaring football stadium is around 100 dB, a jackhammer is about 130 dB, a suppressed firearm around 130 dB and an unsuppressed hunting rifle around 155 dB to 160 dB. I’m not aware of anyone who would consider a jackhammer to be silent. To suggest otherwise is nothing more than political posturing. Suppressors are useful tools for protecting the hearing of recreational shooters, hunters and their dogs, who often can’t use traditional hearing protection due to the nature of their activity. If my legislation were to become law, suppressors would actually be more regulated than they currently are in Europe. We need to stick to the facts. _Duncan is a Republican congressman from South Carolina_ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4970280/jeff-duncan-why-i-created-suppressor-legislation/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4970280/jeff-duncan-why-i-created-suppressor-legislation/"},"headline":"Rep. Jeff Duncan: Why I Created Suppressor Legislation","datePublished":"2017-10-05T10:58:01.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T17:44:32.957Z","description":"South Carolina Rep. 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