The provisions that would have deregulated suppressors were stripped from the Senate’s version of the budget reconciliation bill last week.⁠ ⁠ This setback for gunowners was expected, since substantial policy changes usually can’t be included in budget bills due to Senate budget rules (this applies to everything from firearm laws to public land sales). After the Hearing Protection Act was tossed out of the Senate bill last week, however, Republicans were able to deploy their backup plan and swap in language that eliminates the $200 tax stamp required for silencer purchases and transfers. Lawmakers and gun industry lobbyists reasoned that if they couldn’t remove suppressors from the NFA and bring them on par with most firearms, they could try to reduce the financial burden of suppressor ownership. We sat down with Brandon Maddox, the CEO and founder of Silencer Central so he could explain why it’s been so challenging to pass the Hearing Protection Act, why the gun industry separated int...