Maine: Firearm Suppressor Legislation Before Committee Next Week

Please contact members of the Inland Fisheries and Wildlife Committee and urge them to SUPPORT LD 942!

Next Tuesday, May 5, at 2:00 pm - RM 206 COB, the Committee on Inland Fisheries and Wildlife will potentially vote on Legislative Document 942, “An Act To Permit the Use of Firearm Noise Suppression Devices in Hunting and To Provide for Chief Law Enforcement Officer’s Certification for Certain Firearms."
 
Sponsored by Senator Garrett Mason (R-22), LD 942 would add Maine to the growing number of states that allow sportsmen to use legally-possessed sound suppressors while hunting.  Sound suppressors attached to firearms are an additional tool available to help protect the shooter’s hearing, reduce noise complaints by surrounding residents, as well as increase accuracy and safety.  While suppressors do not eliminate the sound of a firearm, they do reduce the muzzle report of a firearm to safe hearing levels.  Currently, there are 39 states which allow the private ownership of suppressors and 35 of those states allow for the use of suppressors while hunting.
 
Additionally, this legislation would also prevent an arbitrary personal bias from determining Maine firearm policy and ensure that qualified, law-abiding Mainers will not be denied their ability to legally own NFA items by imposing reasonable deadlines and ensuring that individuals who are lawfully seeking to transfer an NFA item are able to do so in an expeditious manner.  Some CLEOs simply refuse to sign such forms, and nothing in current law prohibits this.  The reforms in LD 942 benefit law-abiding Second Amendment supporters by ensuring that the process to obtain NFA items already legal in Maine remains consistent, fact-based and objective.

Please contact members of the Inland Fisheries and Wildlife Committee TODAY and urge them to vote in support of Legislative Document 942.  Contact information is provided below.

Inland Fisheries and Wildlife Committee:

Senator Paul Davis (R-4), Chairman
Phone: 207-876-4047
Email: Paul.Davis@legislature.maine.gov             

Senator Scott Cyrway (R-16)
Phone: 207-287-1505
Email: Scott.Cyrway@legislature.maine.gov       

Senator David Dutremble (D-32)
Phone: 207-229-6587
Email: David.Dutremble@legislature.maine.gov

Representative Michael Shaw (D-23), Chair
Phone: 207-787-4352
Email: Michael.Shaw@legislature.maine.gov      

Representative Robert Alley (D-138)
Phone: 207-287-1430
Email: Robert.Alley@legislature.maine.gov         

Representative Patrick Corey (R-25)
Phone: 207-287-1440
Email: Patrick.Corey@legislature.maine.gov       

Representative Dale Crafts (R-56)
Phone: 207-353-5469
Email: Dale.Crafts@legislature.maine.gov            

Representative Matthew Dana (Passamaquoddy Tribe)
Phone: 207-287-1400
Email: Matthew.Dana@legislature.maine.gov   

Representative Gary Hilliard (R-76) 
Phone: 207-287-1440
Email: Gary.Hilliard@legislature.maine.gov         

Representative Peter Lyford (R-129)
Phone: 207-287-1440
Email: Peter.Lyford@legislature.maine.gov        

Representative Roland Martin (D-150)
Phone: 207-287-1430
Email: Danny.Martin@legislature.maine.gov      

Representative Roger Reed (R-103)
Phone: 207-287-1440
Email: Roger.Reed@legislature.maine.gov          

Representative Stanley Short (D-106)
Phone: 207-287-1430
Email: Stanley.Short@legislature.maine.gov       

Representative Stephen Wood (R-57)
Phone: 207-740-3723
Email: Stephen.Wood@legislature.maine.gov