<story><title>Saudi Arabia Agrees to Let Women Drive</title><url>https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/26/world/middleeast/saudi-arabia-women-drive.html</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>ufo</author><text>Why do some countries encourage the use of suppressors?</text></item><item><author>knz</author><text>Laws related to firearms are often similar.&lt;p&gt;The current example is the effort to make suppressors more available. Those opposed are already pushing tales of dramatically increasing crime rates and poaching instead of acknowledging that even suppressed firearms are still very loud or that many other OECD countries (which have more strict regulation) allow or even encourage the use of suppressors.&lt;p&gt;The sad part about using fear to support or oppose change is that you rarely end up with solutions that actually solve the underlying societal problem via a sensible compromise.</text></item><item><author>rconti</author><text>My favorite example is the South Carolina law that was finally rescinded a few years back, where bars had to serve their mixed alcoholic drinks with liquor poured from single-serving &amp;#x27;airline&amp;#x27; style bottles. A colossal waste of time and resources, but the kicker was the arguments against rescinding the law-- some folks arguing that DUI rates would go through the roof and The Children (TM) would all die, and others arguing that bartenders would rip off patrons with &amp;#x27;short pours&amp;#x27;.&lt;p&gt;All without a single thought to stop and consider the example of the other 49 states, not to mention other countries...</text></item><item><author>ericfrenkiel</author><text>::slow clap::&lt;p&gt;It is absolutely appalling that this type of backwardness is still a reality in the 21st century.&lt;p&gt;The faster we can transition to clean, renewable energy, the better for everyone in the world.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>korethr</author><text>Think about it.&lt;p&gt;The threshold for potential instant noise-induced hearing loss is 120 dB SPL at the ear. A rifle can exceed 170 dB SPL at a distance of one meter[1]. When you&amp;#x27;re shooting a rifle, it&amp;#x27;s going to be cradled firmly against the shoulder -- a lot closer than 1 meter. Even the lowly .22lr fired from a handgun can exceed 160 dB SPL[2]. A suppressor can knock that down about 30 dB. 130 dB is still a lot, but it&amp;#x27;s out of the &amp;#x27;&lt;i&gt;will&lt;/i&gt;-immedately-and-permanently-damage-your-hearing&amp;#x27; range at least, and makes further hearing protection (earmuffs, earplugs) that much more effective.&lt;p&gt;tl;dr - A suppressor is safety equipment.&lt;p&gt;1. &lt;a href=&quot;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&amp;#x2F;wiki&amp;#x2F;Sound_pressure#Examples_of_sound_pressure&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot;&gt;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&amp;#x2F;wiki&amp;#x2F;Sound_pressure#Examples_of_sou...&lt;/a&gt;
2. &lt;a href=&quot;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&amp;#x2F;wiki&amp;#x2F;Suppressor#Effectiveness&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot;&gt;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&amp;#x2F;wiki&amp;#x2F;Suppressor#Effectiveness&lt;/a&gt;</text></comment>
<story><title>Saudi Arabia Agrees to Let Women Drive</title><url>https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/26/world/middleeast/saudi-arabia-women-drive.html</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>ufo</author><text>Why do some countries encourage the use of suppressors?</text></item><item><author>knz</author><text>Laws related to firearms are often similar.&lt;p&gt;The current example is the effort to make suppressors more available. Those opposed are already pushing tales of dramatically increasing crime rates and poaching instead of acknowledging that even suppressed firearms are still very loud or that many other OECD countries (which have more strict regulation) allow or even encourage the use of suppressors.&lt;p&gt;The sad part about using fear to support or oppose change is that you rarely end up with solutions that actually solve the underlying societal problem via a sensible compromise.</text></item><item><author>rconti</author><text>My favorite example is the South Carolina law that was finally rescinded a few years back, where bars had to serve their mixed alcoholic drinks with liquor poured from single-serving &amp;#x27;airline&amp;#x27; style bottles. A colossal waste of time and resources, but the kicker was the arguments against rescinding the law-- some folks arguing that DUI rates would go through the roof and The Children (TM) would all die, and others arguing that bartenders would rip off patrons with &amp;#x27;short pours&amp;#x27;.&lt;p&gt;All without a single thought to stop and consider the example of the other 49 states, not to mention other countries...</text></item><item><author>ericfrenkiel</author><text>::slow clap::&lt;p&gt;It is absolutely appalling that this type of backwardness is still a reality in the 21st century.&lt;p&gt;The faster we can transition to clean, renewable energy, the better for everyone in the world.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>kobeya</author><text>It&amp;#x27;s a safety issue. Suppressors &lt;i&gt;do not&lt;/i&gt; work like the purely fictional &amp;quot;silencers&amp;quot; of the movies. They take a deafening, hearing-injury-inducing bang and turn it merely into a loud noise. Modern suppressors actually aid accuracy too, making collateral damage less likely.</text></comment>