Va. Tech survivor: Say no to gun-silencer bill

I was sitting in class at Virginia Tech when the gunman opened fire down the hallway. I remember hearing the gunshots. I had become accustomed to the loud masonry work around my classroom that semester, but I knew this was different. The loud, piercing sound of the gunfire let me know something terrible was happening. My professor quickly braced himself against the door as my classmates and I opened windows from which to escape.

It was a 19-foot drop from the windows to the ground. As the gunshots grew louder and louder, I knew it would be dangerous to jump, but even more dangerous to stay put. So I jumped. When I hit the ground, I broke both the tibia and fibula in my left leg. I got out, but 32 people were shot and killed that day, including my classmate and professor.

For me, hearing gunshots that spring day in 2007 meant the difference between life and death. They were so loud and distinctive that my classmates and I knew to take action immediately. Law enforcement officers rely on the sound of gunfire, too. Police and first responders are expected to hear, locate and react quickly to gunshots.

As a survivor of the Virginia Tech shooting, I know that legislation the gun lobby is pushing through Congress could make mass shootings even more deadly, and make it more difficult for law enforcement to keep people safe.

I’m talking about the Sportsmen’s Heritage And Recreational Enhancement Act. The SHARE Act includes the so-called Hearing Protection Act, a proposal drafted, with help from the gun-silencer industry, to make it easy for anyone to buy a silencer without a background check.

For decades, a federal law called the National Firearms Act has allowed law-abiding citizens to buy silencers while preventing them from getting into the wrong hands. If you want to buy a silencer now, you can in 42 states — after passing a criminal background check.

The SHARE Act would remove silencers from the National Firearms Act and make it easy for anyone — including felons, domestic abusers and people with dangerous mental illnesses, such as the gunman at Virginia Tech — to buy silencers without a background check, simply by finding an unlicensed seller.

It’s a bill that should frighten everyone. Gun silencers exist for one reason: to distort the sound of a gunshot. That’s why, in the wrong hands, they put our safety at risk. I can’t begin to understand why this legislation has become a priority of the gun lobby and Congress.

The Virginia Tech shooting was far from the only time survivors heard gunshots and knew they had to react quickly. In Alexandria, Va., in June, members of Congress were practicing for the congressional baseball game when a gunman opened fire. Those who were there said that they, too, recognized the sound of gunshots and took cover in the dugout.

Now we have dozens dead and hundreds injured in Las Vegas. I don’t even want to imagine how much worse it could have been if the shooter had a silencer.

Congress should put public safety first and vote against the SHARE Act. Lives are on the line.