Oct 15, 2026 · 54 min · 14 segments
In this episode of TFB Behind the Gun, Owen Miller, Vice President of the American Suppressor Association, joins the show to break down the August 2026 ruling in Silencer Shop Foundation v. ATF. After…
Yeah.
And I, I guess, like, you know, I, I think a lot of people often overlook this, but suppressor companies and the employees there are often the ones that are doing a lot of the legwork for a lot of this legislation, um, that gets passed.
Um, you know, like I know there's the, you know, there's the GOA, um, the FPC, uh, you know, the NRA and all that stuff who, who, you know, have their own, you know, teams of lawyers and stuff like that.
But I, honestly, from my perspective, it seems like a lot of the work, um, and a lot of these lawsuits and, and everything like that, these court cases, is done on, on, by organizations that are put together by, like you said, uh, suppressor industry alumni.
So-
...
it seems like you have a lot, that, you know, they have more skin in the game, I think, than most of us.
[chuckles]
I mean, that's, you know, the whole reason that ASA exists is to represent the industry, um, and, and these companies and, and create a business environment that allows them to grow and thrive and innovate And that.
And, and so in, in 2011, you know, back in 2011, the suppressor industry was very small.
I mean, it was even smaller when I first got in as a, as a consumer back in the early 2000s.
I think, uh, when I bought my first suppressor in 2000 or 2001 timeframe, there were about 85,000 suppressors total in the whole registry.
Yeah
... was just economics, right? Like you, y- you know, in 1934 when, when the NFA was enacted, you could mail order a suppressor from, from Maxim for $7, but you had to pay a $200 tax on it.
Um, so many, many, many years later, you know, decades later, as inflation sort of took the bite out of that $200, that's when, when the industry partly started to grow and just, you know, the, the, the sight of a suppressor at a range became a little bit more commonplace.
Mm-hmm
And really the catalyst to start ASA was because he wanted to be able to hunt with a suppressor in Georgia.
So he got together with, um, some of the, the gun rights groups, you know, NRA and, and the like, and, and just said, "Hey, I'm, you know, I'd, I'd love to lobby on suppressors.
Yeah.
And I, I guess, like, you know, I, I think a lot of people often overlook this, but suppressor companies and the employees there are often the ones that are doing a lot of the legwork for a lot of this legislation, um, that gets passed.
Um, you know, like I know there's the, you know, there's the GOA, um, the FPC, uh, you know, the NRA and all that stuff who, who, you know, have their own, you know, teams of lawyers and stuff like that.
But I, honestly, from my perspective, it seems like a lot of the work, um, and a lot of these lawsuits and, and everything like that, these court cases, is done on, on, by organizations that are put together by, like you said, uh, suppressor industry alumni.
So-
...
it seems like you have a lot, that, you know, they have more skin in the game, I think, than most of us.
[chuckles]
I mean, that's, you know, the whole reason that ASA exists is to represent the industry, um, and, and these companies and, and create a business environment that allows them to grow and thrive and innovate And that.
And, and so in, in 2011, you know, back in 2011, the suppressor industry was very small.
I mean, it was even smaller when I first got in as a, as a consumer back in the early 2000s.
I think, uh, when I bought my first suppressor in 2000 or 2001 timeframe, there were about 85,000 suppressors total in the whole registry.
Yeah
... was just economics, right? Like you, y- you know, in 1934 when, when the NFA was enacted, you could mail order a suppressor from, from Maxim for $7, but you had to pay a $200 tax on it.
Um, so many, many, many years later, you know, decades later, as inflation sort of took the bite out of that $200, that's when, when the industry partly started to grow and just, you know, the, the, the sight of a suppressor at a range became a little bit more commonplace.
Mm-hmm
And really the catalyst to start ASA was because he wanted to be able to hunt with a suppressor in Georgia.
So he got together with, um, some of the, the gun rights groups, you know, NRA and, and the like, and, and just said, "Hey, I'm, you know, I'd, I'd love to lobby on suppressors.
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