The American Suppressor Association is proud to announce that after 3 years and a lot of teamwork, suppressor hunting is now legal in the Granite State! Earlier today, Gov. Maggie Hassan signed Rep. John Burt’s (R-Hillsborough)HB 500 into law, making New Hampshire the 40th state to legalize suppressor hunting. We could not be more proud to have been part of the team that got this bill introduced, passed through both houses of the legislature, and finally signed into law!

As you may recall, the ASA began working with the New Hampshire Sportsmen’s Caucus three years ago to introduce legislation to bring New Hampshire on board with the 17 (now 18) states that have legalized suppressor hunting since 2011. We faced many obstacles along the way, including skeptical committee chairmen and Department of Fish and Game leadership, but in the end the logic in favor of allowing sportsmen and women to protect their hearing in the field prevailed.

The American Suppressor Association would like to thank a long list of people and groups who came together to make this day possible. First and foremost, we are incredibly grateful for Rep. John Burt’s sponsorship of the bill, as well as his continued championing of the issue each step of the way. We also could not have gotten here without the tireless efforts of Rep. Jeff Goley (D-Hillsborough), who was a constant champion from the Democratic side of the aisle. At the federal level, Rep. Frank Guinta (R-NH) played a crucial role by making sure that the voices of his constituents were relayed to Governor Hassan. A special thanks is also due to Gov. Maggie Hassan for taking the time to learn about the benefits of suppressor hunting, and for signing HB 500 into law.

On the organizational front, we would like to thank the New Hampshire Sportsmen’s Caucus, and in particular Brent Miller, the Northeastern States Manager for the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation, who testified and advocated on behalf of this bill on too many occasions to count. We are also very grateful to New Hampshire-based Sig Sauer for the tremendous help they provided in pushing the bill past the finish line. This was a true team effort, and could not have happened without the efforts of everyone listed above, as well as many more we haven’t named.

Finally, the American Suppressor Association is grateful for the support of our members, and we are very excited about bringing legal suppressor hunting to New Hampshire. We will continue to work towards our goal of legalizing suppressor ownership and hunting in all 50 states. Special thanks to New Hampshire for taking us one step closer!