Just had a conversation with Mr Knight. The long and short of it is that the suppressor provision was attached to his bill without him knowing about it, and that the suppressor proviso would have killed the bill. At least he felt this way. He is an avid hunter himself and does not oppose suppressor use for hunting. He represented that there is widespread concern amongst land owners that suppressors will make poaching easier. Until this concern is alleviated he believes it unlikely a suppressor provision would pass on its own at this time.
I believe the landowner argument against suppressors to be logically flawed, but such concerns are not always rooted in logic. I have had my own property poached upon. Poaching is already illegal, be it shining for deer or hunting without permission, or something else. Why one would assume that by making suppressors legal people would be more likely to engage in illegal activity? If a poacher is already using a suppressor for that activity (which is likely), a change in the law certainly doesn't make poaching legal, doesn't make suppressors available to anyone that can't get them now, and doesn't hinder enforcement of current laws in any way. So, for now only criminals are using suppressors for poaching. Making suppressors legal for hunting will not create an entirely new criminal class where I find myself suddenly inclined to sneak off at night and hunt the park behind my house for the trophy buck I have seen on early morning jogs. If I were a poacher those antlers would have hung in my man cave long ago.
I have had my tree stand stolen. It was locked with a cable and was cut using bolt cutters. I can't blame the legality of bolt cutters on their nefarious use. Nor does the legality of bolt cutters ENCOURAGE their use for illegal activities.
Us hunters in GA need to band together and find a way to get such a bill through. I am certainly a newb at such political maneuverings, but I am more than willing to participate via letters, calls, speaking, or with my pocket book.
cc: The Honorable David Knight