Sales Of Gun Silencers Skyrocket
By Paul Kurtz
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - Sales of silencers, the screw-on devices that muffle gunfire, are soaring.
It's a little quieter these days at gun ranges all across America.
According to the Bureau of Alchohol, Tobacco and Firearms sales rose a whopping 37-percent last year.
Industry analysts say the buying spree follows a run on guns that happened in the wake of the Sandy Hook massacre. In other words, many gun owners are now accessorizing. But this man, who declined to give his name, has a more practical reason for buying his.
"Hearing protection. Also, if I were to have to use this item in defense of myself and my loved ones in my home, I don't want to lose my hearing."
In Philadelphia, however, sales are lagging. Torresdale Gun shop owner Fred Dilea says between all the paperwork and bueracrataic red tape, purchasing a silencer is too much of a hassle.
"If you live in the city, you need the chief of police to sign here or you don't get it and that's where the problem comes in. The city won't sign for any of it. Why? That's a good question. It's legal what they're doing but they're just saying they won't allow it."
Elsewhere, sales are so brisk that it takes between nine months and a year to get your registration approved by the ATF.