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> 1) it is not hard to get a silencer. You can make one in under an hour with cheap parts from a hardware store and a drill. As you can to construct an entire
by kube-system 2y ago
> 1) it is not hard to get a silencer. You can make one in under an hour with cheap parts from a hardware store and a drill.
As you can to construct an entire gun, if you want a crude option. But this isn’t Japan. Obtaining a commercial silencer doesn’t require someone to smuggle them through international customs, just across state lines. They’re harder to get than a handgun, but not hard enough to get that a determined and capable assassin couldn’t get.
I think the point was, they’re hard enough to get that common street criminals don’t use them. They’re not something a criminal can just have their girlfriend straw-purchase from the local sporting goods store.
- dole 2y agoWhen it comes to DIY suppressors, there's making your own from hardware scrap, making them from various oil and fuel filters, ordering them from an overseas vendor (Ali, Wish, etc) with the risk of customs, and now there's 3d printing. You can print a fully workable 9mm suppressor on nearly any 3d printer in 8-10 hours or less with no post finishing necessary. No, common street criminals may not use them yet, but I don't think this shooter is a common street criminal, or a professional either.
- kube-system 2y agoSomeone could do all of this, but it doesn't make any sense for a determined actor to do any of that in a place where it is easy (for a determined, relatively educated, and resourceful person) to get an already polished commercial option.
- blahyawnblah 2y agoYou have to wait at least 8 months (it varies) to get a suppressor when you buy one. You also have to submit passport photos, get finger printed by either the sheriff or police chief, and then wait. This is in addition to a regular NICS type check.
- kube-system 2y agoAnd you have to have a home address in a state where they are allowed... e.g. not NY. But yeah, I don't think it is incorrect to say they are "hard" to get, especially in context here.
- dole 2y agoAlso a $200 tax stamp for each suppressor. Again, someone COULD buy a manufactured suppressor legally and tie all their credit info and everything back but according to the news this shooter: 1. Traveled on a Greyhound bus from somewhere between Atlanta to New York in the past 5-10 days 2. Used a fake New Jersey driver's license to register at the hostel he was staying at 3. reportedly wore a mask indoors consistently while staying in the hostel 4. paid cash for everything
- kube-system 2y agoHe also didn't leave the gun or suppressor behind, so it being tied to his real identity isn't a link to the crime scene.
- sky_rw 2y agoFYI these wait times are now down to about 2 weeks. The ATF decided to do the bare minimum of process improvements and had a ~10X increase in efficiency.
- srj 2y agoATF approvals for individuals are much faster now. Last week I got a Form 4 approval in just 2-3 days.
- sneed_chucker 2y agoNot any more. An E-Form 4 is now processed in a week or two.