The Supreme Court bats away a case that would affect regulation of gun silencers, which in mass shootings can lead victims to believe the gun is farther away than it is. The shooter in Virginia Beach had a silencer. NBC News:
The court rejected an appeal brought by two Kansas men — Shane Cox, the owner of a military surplus store who sold a silencer, and Jeremy Kettler, the man who bought it. Kettler said he purchased the silencer to protect his ears because his hearing was damaged during military service. He also said the store owner told him that a silencer made and sold in the same state was not subject to the federal law that requires the devices to be registered.
That turned out to be bad advice. Both men were convicted and appealed, claiming the law violates their Second Amendment right to bear arms.
Gun rights advocates have repeatedly tried to get Congress to ease the restrictions on silencers, but each time those efforts stalled after mass shootings. The governor of Virginia asked his state to consider banning silencers after a man using a handgun equipped with one of the devices killed 12 people last month in Virginia Beach.
