Gunfire is dangerously loud. Most handguns and rifles produce peak noise levels over 150 decibels — noisier than a jet engine at takeoff, higher than the maximum threshold set by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration for what can cause permanent hearing damage.
The House Natural Resource Committee was scheduled to hold a hearing on whether the government should continue to tightly regulate the sale of devices that make guns somewhat less loud on Wednesday morning. The hearing was postponed after Louisiana Republican Steve Scalise, who supports silencer deregulation, and four others were shot at a baseball field in Alexandria, Virginia, Wednesday morning.