The number of noise suppressors, or silencers, for firearms more than doubled throughout Ohio from 2012 to 2013 — and two representatives aim to let the state’s hunters put those accessories to use.
Starting March 2012, noise suppressor registration totals spiked by about 144 percent to a total of more than 25,000 silencers by April 2013, according to the 2013 United States Justice Department’s Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Annual Statistical Update of Firearms Commerce in the U.S.
That total was good for the second-highest percentage increase among all states, according to the data.
Sponsored by Republican Reps. Cheryl Grossman of Grove City and John Becker of Union Township, House Bill 234 would allow the use of those suppressors while Ohioans hunt wild game and birds.
The bill had a Tuesday target date to be voted out of the House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee, but requests from representatives to hear the suppressors in action stalled the vote for at least another two weeks, said committee chair, Rep. Dave Hall, R-Millersburg.
Although his proposal has come under fire because of safety concerns, Becker said he thinks permitting silencers would actually enhance safety for hunters, because he knows many hunters opt against wearing ear protection to maximize their “situational awareness.”
“(The bill) really has to do with protecting the hearing of hunters more than anything else,” Becker said.
That kind of safety improvement is likely why suppressors are all the rage in Ohio, said Rick Kaleda, Northeast Ohio’s chair of the Buckeye Firearms Association.
Kaleda and Becker believe the bill’s biggest obstacle has come from those who liken suppressors to silencers seen in James Bond movies. Suppressors are still loud enough to warn passersby of hunters nearby, Becker said.
One of the initial critics of the bill was the Ohio Prosecuting Attorneys Association, but John Murphy, the association’s executive director, said his organization’s original concerns stemmed from those film-inspired fears. As a result, Murphy said, association members chose to retract their opposition last October.
Noise suppressor registration includes a $200 tax and a waiting period that typically lasts about eight to 12 months.
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