Just for argument’s sake, say you’re a deer poacher and you found a half-buried bottle of Jim Beam in a creek, rubbed it and a genie appeared and announced he’d grant you one wish.
What would that wish be?
A faster four-wheel drive truck? Nah. A good set of runnin’ legs? Not really. How about earmuffs that would detect a game warden sneaking up from a mile away? Maybe. A .30-06 that would never miss? Well, that’s gettin’ close.
Here’s the wish I think most poachers would want granted — being able to shoot without anybody being able to hear you.
Well, shazzam! Boys ’n’ girls ’n’ poachers, the Republican-controlled state legislature and Gov. Pat McCrory have granted your wish. That’s exactly what happened when McCrory signed House Bill 937 (also called “An Act to Amend State Firearms Laws”) into law July 29; he legalized noise suppressors (silencers) for firearms.
Of course, the bill had sections that will help people protect themselves by extending concealed-carry rights. But, whooee, it’s almost like the Republicans are the “Gang That Couldn’t Shoot Straight,” because with this addition to H 937, they nailed their feet to the floor — again.
The “silencer” portion of the bill began as Senate Bill 201, introduced by Sen. Shirley B. Randleman (R-Stokes/Surry/Wilkes). Initially, the Senate’s Environmental and Judiciary committees stuck down the bill, but it was revived and sent back to the Judiciary Committee.
Then, McCrory, apparently in a hurry to get ’er done, signed off on H 937; neither he nor his aides could have understood the implications of the word-for-word addition to the gun bill.
Here is the exact wording: (c) It is a Class 1 misdemeanor for any person taking wildlife to have in the person’s possession (2) Weapon of mass death and destruction as defined in G.S. 14-288.8, other than a suppressor or other device designed to muffle or minimize the report of a firearm that is lawfully possessed by a person in compliance with U.S.C. Chapter 53 5801-5871.
“This was snatched out of the dead list and put in the omnibus gun bill,” said Dick Hamilton, director of the N.C. Camouflage Coalition. “It’s not needed and a bad idea. It takes away one means of identifying someone who is trespassing or poaching. The N.C. Wildlife Federation is against it, and I don’t think the (N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission’s) Enforcement Division is happy. It will increase trespassing and poaching.”
What could have led Sen. Randleman to introduce such a bill? Hard to say. She’s not much of a sportswoman, and the only advantage she offered for S 201 was people are losing their hearing because of gun shots.
Every Tarheel State sportsman wants to know why the Republicans were tone deaf on another issue. Could their heads have been somewhere they couldn’t hear?
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