I live in Massachusetts, and I own firearms. There, I said it. There are a lot of people outside of MA/New England that think once you head east; firearms are not a normal “thing.” I got into firearms late in life after a buddy took me shooting and I was hooked. Shooting for me is very mental, thinking about my form, the round count, the objective – all of these allow me to think about something that is not work-related.
Something that has come up recently in the news is the American Suppressor Association (ASA) working to have a bill introduced into Congress that would remove suppressors from the NFA (National Firearms Act of 1934). Representative Matt Salmon (AZ) introduced the Hearing Protection Act (HPA) on October 22, 2015. Part of this provision, if passed, would refund the $200.00 tax stamp to applicants that purchased a suppressor after the October 22nd filing date. Filing of this legislation is something, in this writer’s opinion, that is overdue. Unfortunately. Even if this was to pass through Congress and signed into law by the President, which is very unlikely at this time, but you need to start somewhere. The state that I live in, Massachusetts bans the use of suppressors today.
But, in Massachusetts, we have grassroots organizations such as GOAL (Gun Owner’s Action League) who have worked to preserve the 2nd amendment rights and have helped with like-minded legislators to introduce new legislation into the State House. This summer, GOAL worked with Auburn Legislator, Paul Frost to introduce Bill H.1305 (exciting name, right?) to the Joint Committee of the Judiciary to remove suppressors for Section 10A of Chapter 269 of the Massachusetts General Laws. As of this writing, the proposed legislation is still in committee.
If this legislation were to move from committee to a vote, and eventually signed into law. It would allow the residents of Massachusetts to be able to purchase suppressors, like 40 other states in the Union. Massachusetts is most definitely in the minority here. According to the ASA, since 2014, 11 out of those 40 states made suppressors legal to own or to hunt with.
GOAL has a nice feature on their website; you can search using your zip code to find your local legislator(s) and write to them in support of legislation like the one above.
When people hear the words Silencer or Suppressor, most think of a super-secret ninja assassin that shoots bullets in 100% silence. I hate to destroy that Hollywood myth, but that is not the case. According to the statistics posted on the ASA’s website, the use of a suppressor can reduce the decibel level anywhere from 20 to 35 dBs, which is the same amount as wearing inner ear or earmuff style hearing protection. You still hear the shot, but at much more comfortable levels. For newer shooters, the recoil is reduced, which helps when teaching the fundamentals of shooting. If your range is in a residential area, you have reduced noise pollution.
A great analogy that I have heard, is would you drive a car without a muffler? The majority of you would not – that is all a suppressor is, a muffler on the end of your firearm. I would love to see them legalized in Massachusetts, owning one (or more) would help reduce the noise around me at the range, would help me protect my hearing, and increase my enjoyment when shooting.
If you live in MA – I strongly suggest getting involved with GOAL (Gun Owner’s Actin League). They are our advocate group within the state, working to push Pro-2A bills through the state house and protecting the rights we have today.
Some Links to check out and get behind legislation:
GOAL: http://goal.org/
ASA: http://americansuppressorassociation.com/
