Hi, new member here... I just wanted to say that perceptions
can change. About ten years ago in Norway, there was an effort underway to ban sound suppressors, which were associated with the kind of activity mentioned above. However, an effective information campaign aimed at the agencies designing the new laws was successful at preventing a ban and instead managed to turn "silencers" into an over-the counter item. It helped considerably that the Institute of Public Health recommended deregulation on the grounds that suppressors prevent damage to people's hearing.
These days, although there are still some people who are suspicious of suppressors, they are becoming more and more common. Not least because many hunters here use dogs (who can't really wear hearing protection) and because many shooting ranges are located fairly close to inhabited areas.
Sometimes things do go right
