On April 21, the New Hampshire House Fish and Game and Marine Resources Committee voted 11-5 to concur with a minor amendment made by the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee to HB 500 – a bill to authorize the use of firearm suppressors for hunting.
HB 500 (also called the Hunter’s Hearing Protection Act) is sponsored by New Hampshire Legislative Sportsmen’s Caucus Member Representative John Burt and is championed by many other Caucus members in both chambers and on both sides of the aisle.
The bill is scheduled for a concurrence vote by the full House on May 11 and will then head to Governor Maggie Hassan, a member of the Governors Sportsmen’s Caucus, for her consideration. HB 500 previously passed the House with a strong bipartisan vote (184-124) on January 7 and received unanimous (23-0) support from the Senate on March 17.
Studies conducted at both the state and federal level have found that the number of hunters and trappers have been on a generally declining trend over the past several decades. To increase recruitment, retention, and reactivation (R3) of hunters and trappers, which initiative do you think would have the greatest impact?
