A hunter named Louis Knebel has apparently met with some success in working to end the prohibition on using silencers while hunting in Ohio. Unsurprisingly, his motive is a very simple one: to prevent hearing loss among his fellow hunters. He has been persuasive enough to convince Rep. Cheryl Grossman, a family friend, to introduce legislation to allow hunters to make their firearms more hearing friendly.

According to Dave Golowenski of The Columbus Dispatch,  the prevention of hearing loss is not the only reason for the bill. He also cites neighborliness as a factor in the proposal to allow hunters to muffle the noise their firearms make. Hunters working to beat back invasive species like wild pigs would be able to hunt at night without disturbing sleeping neighbors. Golowenski notes that the bill is not facing the sort of resistance from state bureaucracy that such proposals have faced in other states:

Ken Fitz, executive administrator of law enforcement for the Ohio Division of Wildlife, said he has few concerns about the possibility that suppressors might make it harder to catch poachers.

“We don’t chase gunshots,” he said.

The only reservations that the bureaucracy seems to have are about the means for making the change. The wildlife division chief, Scott Zody, has noted that the change could be made administratively and doesn’t necessarily require legislation. His agency is neutral on Grossman’s proposed legislation.

Grossman’s bill, HB 234, would permit hunters to use firearms silencers while taking game birds and wild quadrapeds if they are otherwise in compliance with state and federal law. It has already garnered nearly a dozen co-sponsors in the Ohio General Assembly.