The following letter was posted by Lee Williams at TheGunWriter.com
Lee’s note: This email was originally sent to a friend who shared it with me but asked that they and the author remain anonymous.
It’s touching beyond words, and speaks to yet another benefit of hunting with suppressors — a benefit I hadn’t even considered.
Enjoy!
Lee
* * * *
Subject: Suppressor/safety/autism/thank you
My name is xxxxxx, I am a Florida licence holder xxxxxx, a full-time Florida resident, and an avid hunter and fisherman. Other than that I’m just a regular guy no one has heard of, but most importantly I am a father.
My greatest love in life other than my wife and child is the love of the great Florida outdoors, and I assure you, we utilize every aspect of the outdoors. We annually hunt archery, muzzeloader, and gun seasons. We apply every year for alligator season, and we also have an annual state parks pass that we often use off-season. In addition to hunting and camping we also fish as often as possible.
The reason for this email is to let you know how pleased I am with the FWC’s decision to allow hunting with a suppressor. I would like to explain why. While I’m sure there are some people who will think suppressors will be used for the wrong reasons, I want to assure you that most people are ethical sportsman that will use them legally and safely. The main reason I am so pleased is this new law opens not just more opportunities for me but for my young family as well.
My personal opinion of a suppressor is simply a safety measure. We would not send our children to play football with no helmets of padding. Nor would we let them even ride a bike without the proper safety equipment. So then why would we send them afield without a suppressor to quiet some of the sound made by firearms.
I, of course due to my love of the outdoors want to share it with everyone including my family. My son, xxxxxx was born autistic he is high functioning and really a pretty normal kid, his autism does have some drawbacks, he is withdrawn in large groups, has a speech impediment, and absolutely cannot tolerate loud noises. We have tried shooting but he just cannot handle the sound of a gun even with proper ear protection this deeply saddened me because I had envisioned taking him hunting with me.
It is with tears in my eyes that FWC has given my son and I the opportunity to go hunting together in a manner in which he can enjoy and not fear the sport. The combination of a suppressor and hearing protection will make it viable for him to go with me. My wife and I agree that we can take him shooting and hunting without the fear of hurting his hearing or making him altogether uninterested in the sport.
We also plan to take advantage of FWC’s Hunter safety course as soon as he is age eligeable.
Please feel free to share this e-mail with whomever was involved for giving my son and I the opportunity to be together in the field.
Merry Christmas and happy holidays.
Thank you
XXXXXXXX and family
If you want to see suppressors legalized in Iowa, for whatever reason, make sure to do two things:
1) Contact your legislators right now and tell them you want suppressors legalized in Iowa. The Iowa Firearms Coalition has made this about as easy as possible with our Legislative Action Center program. Just put plug-in your name and address (we’ll never share your information), and we’ll email the lawmakers that represent you a brief, professional note on your behalf.
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