New York really doesn’t like noise.

Apparently, we New Yorkers have finally found something our government believes should be suppressed.

Noise.

Start your car with an exhaust system that’s a little too enthusiastic and Albany has a law for you. New York Vehicle and Traffic Law §375 requires an adequate muffler and exhaust system to prevent “excessive or unusual noise.” You can’t modify it to make it excessively louder, either.

Fair enough. Nobody wants to hear your Mustang announcing your arrival from three towns away.

Even your horn has rules. New York law says a horn should be loud enough to warn people of danger, but it shouldn’t be “unnecessarily loud or harsh.”

Head down to New York City and they take noise even more seriously. There are rules covering loud exhaust systems, horns, amplified music and construction equipment. They’ve even deployed noise cameras capable of identifying excessively loud vehicles.

Construction workers aren’t getting away with it either. Jackhammers, concrete saws, pile drivers, dump trucks and other equipment are subject to noise rules, and construction projects can be required to have noise-mitigation plans.

And here’s one of my favorites.

New York City even has a violation on the books for operating a leaf blower without a muffler.

Apparently, somewhere in government, somebody looked at a leaf blower and said, “You know what that thing needs? A muffler.”

Noise can be annoying. It affects neighbors. Excessive noise can interfere with sleep and, at high enough levels, damage hearing.

New York even recognizes gunfire as a noise issue. General Business Law §150 addresses noise from outdoor shooting ranges and establishes sound standards under certain circumstances.

So we’ve established something upon which Republicans, Democrats, independents, dog owners, construction workers and the poor guy trying to sleep while his neighbor starts a leaf blower at 7:01 Saturday morning can probably agree:

Less unnecessary noise is generally a good thing.

Now hunting season is approaching here in Milton and throughout the Hudson Valley.

Hunters will head into the woods. People will be sighting in their rifles. Property owners will be target shooting where it’s lawful.
Electronic hearing protection helps, but here’s a crazy thought:
Why not reduce some of the noise at the source?

New York loves that idea when we’re talking about automobiles.

It loves it for motorcycles.

It loves it for construction equipment.

Apparently, it even loves it for leaf blowers.

So you’d think New York would be thrilled about a device specifically engineered to reduce the tremendous muzzle blast produced by a firearm.

And there is one.

New York’s own Penal Law describes the device as something intended to “lessen or muffle the noise” of a firearm.

Perfect! We finally found something Albany and gun owners can agree on. Except there’s one little problem. New York prohibits ordinary citizens from possessing it.

It’s called a suppressor.

Hollywood has spent decades making people believe a suppressor turns a rifle into some magical silent pfft-pfft machine. It doesn’t. A suppressed firearm can still be quite loud. What the device can do is substantially reduce the muzzle blast.

If someone illegally possesses a firearm, prosecute the crime. If someone uses a firearm to commit a violent crime, punish that person severely.

But don’t spend decades telling New Yorkers that reducing unnecessary noise protects hearing, improves neighborhoods and benefits the public, then suddenly abandon the entire argument because somebody said the word gun.

I want representatives in Albany willing to point out contradictions like this.

That’s one of the reasons I’m voting for Jackie Auringer. I believe Jackie will understand this argument and have the courage to bring common-sense questions like this to Albany. I hope plenty of other people get behind her, because ideological BS shouldn’t be an acceptable substitute for common sense.

So when the next politician tells you New York needs another law to make your car, your motorcycle, your construction site or apparently even your leaf blower quieter, look them right in the eye.

Then ask:

If quieter is better everywhere else in New York, why isn’t quieter better for my rifle?

Why are you against suppressing the noise?