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Sponsor defends SB 499 to preserve legal suppressors and strike 'silencer' from code amid safety questions
Summary
Sponsor asked the committee to preserve the legal status of roughly 270,000 suppressors in Georgia and to remove 'silencer' from state code; members raised concerns about detectability and school shootings and pressed for assurances on public safety and law-enforcement tools.
A sponsor presented SB 499 and asked the committee to consider keeping the current legal status of about "270,000 suppressors that are legal in Georgia under federal law and state law," and to remove the word "silencer" from Georgia code so terminology matches modern usage. The sponsor said the bill aims to avoid leaving licensed suppressor owners "out in the cold" if federal law changes.
Members pressed the sponsor on safety: one lawmaker asked, "If this results in additional children being shot at at a school, ... what would you tell a mother who may have lost her child?" The sponsor responded emphatically, "I can promise you that this bill will not result in any child being shot in school," and described technologies for locating gunfire that he said still work with suppressors. He also said the bill's change is terminological (striking the word "silencer") and said he would work to protect against misuse if truly silent technologies arise.
Questions also referenced hunting and hearing protection, the role of federal regulation, and an amendment adopted in committee to earn Georgia Sheriff's Association support. No formal vote on the bill was recorded in the session excerpt.
