I wrote my representatives:
Here are some of the talking points from my letter, if y'all want to borrow them.
The process of acquiring sound suppressors is rigorous and involves the payment of a 250 dollar tax stamp and an extensive ATF background check that can take several months. Those of us who go through this process are likely to be the most upstanding and law abiding citizens. Approval of this bill would not allow anyone who is committing a crime to use a suppressor, nor would it allow shooting in areas where it is not currently permitted. If a suppressor is used in a crime, the crime carries mandatory minimum of 30 years under 18 U.S.C. §924(c)(1) and this bill would not change that. Suppressors do not pose a significant danger to the public. Between 1995 and 2005, there are only two cases of a suppressor being used in murders that resulted in federal charges (Paul Clark, Criminal Use of Firearm Silencers, Western Criminology Review 8(2), 44-57 at 52, (2007), available at
http://wcr.sonoma.edu/v08n2/44.clark/clark.pdf.) Given the extremely low use by criminals and the high hurdles that exist to suppressor ownership imposed by federal law, it is reasonable to conclude that SB 5112 would pose no additional risk to Washington residents.
Hunting applications of Firearms could be controlled by administrative rules and need not be evaluated when discussing SB 5112 because the Department of Fish and Wildlife has the authority to regulate the use of suppressors in hunting applications.
Suppressors allow people with hearing disabilities to participate in shooting sports that might otherwise be too painful for those with sensitive hearing, such as persons with traumatic brain injuries. Hearing protection helps, but for the highly sensitive, only a suppressor combined with hearing protection can give them access to the recreational opportunities available through the shooting sports.
I also added a bit about "don't get sucked into the extreme positions, pro or con, just look at the law and prove that people of good will can meet in the middle".
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