MONTPELIER, VERMONT – Today, Governor Phil Scott (R-VT) signed S. 281 into law, making Vermont the 41st state to allow the use of suppressors while hunting. The ASA-backed pro-suppressor provision of the bill, championed by Representatives Pat Brennan (R-Chittenden-9-2) and George Till (D-Chittenden-3), was amended into the legislation during the floor debate in the House of Representatives on May 10th. It passed the Senate as amended the very next day. The new law, which carries a two-year sunset provision, will take effect on July 1st.
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“IT IS MY PLEASURE TO ANNOUNCE THAT WITH THE ENACTMENT OF S. 281, GOVERNOR SCOTT AND THE LEGISLATURE HAVE TAKEN A TREMENDOUS STEP FORWARD TOWARDS EXPANDING THE RIGHT OF HUNTERS TO USE SUPPRESSORS IN THE FIELD,”
- Rep. Brennan, Co-Chair of the Vermont Legislative Sportsmen's Caucus
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The American Suppressor Association has been fighting alongside the bipartisan Vermont Sportsmen’s Caucus, Co-Chaired by Rep. Brennan, and the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation for suppressor rights in Vermont for the past 10 years. Together we have helped draft legislation, provided written and verbal testimony, and hosted multiple live-fire suppressor demonstrations for legislators, law enforcement officers, and the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department at the Barre Fish and Game Club near Montpelier. In 2015, ASA-backed legislation introduced by Rep. Brennan legalized the ownership of suppressors in the state, but not their use in the field.
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WASHINGTON, DC – On May 31, 2022, Executive Order 14074 was published in the Federal Register. Signed by President Biden, this Executive Order seeks to restrict Federal government agencies from transferring suppressors and other firearms, ammunition, and equipment to qualified State and Local law enforcement agencies and to restrict the use of Federal grant funds to purchase such items.
Once again, the myths and misconceptions that surround suppressors are being used as a false justification to prevent law enforcement officers from protecting their hearing in the line of duty. When officers are forced to discharge their weapons, they put their own hearing and the hearing of innocent bystanders at severe risk when they do not use suppressors. This is why suppressors are such an important safety device for officers, as they are the only tool that can reduce the dangerous sound level of a gunshot to safer levels.
More details to follow.
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