For people who want to keep things quiet, it seemed unusual for this association to want to speak up in Washington, or publicly register to lobby.

But the lobbying firm of Shockey Scofield Solutions LLC registered late Sunday night to lobby on behalf of the 
American Silencer Association
, a trade association of manufacturers of firearm accessories. They will lobby on funding for the National Firearms Act Branch of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, which maintains the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record. The Branch also processes applications and notices associated with the manufacture, registration, transfer and transportation of National Firearms Act firearms.

John Scofield, former communications director at the House Appropriations Committee, and Jeff Shockey, former staff director at the House Appropriations Committee, will be the lobbyists.

The American Silencer Association and the National Rifle Association have come under criticism for efforts to deregulate and promote the use of silencers as safety devices. View Salon.com article Silencers: The NRA’s Latest Big Lie, Silencers could give the next Adam Lanza more time to kill — but to the NRA, they protect kid’s hearing, by Alexander Zaitchik.