Gun Rights Group Fights Bill to Make Hearing Aids More Affordable

PORTLAND, Maine - A proposal designed to make hearing aids more affordable has generated resistance from an unlikely quarter: gun owners.
 
A gun rights group is organizing opposition, because it believes the measure would change the way certain hunting products are regulated.
 
A bipartisan group of senators introduced the measure. It would allow hearing aids intended to compensate for mild to moderate hearing impairment to be sold over the counter, rather than by prescription.
 
But Gun Owners of America sees a different story. The 1.5 million-member group says the legislation could negatively impact hunters who buy hearing enhancement devices as a way to better track game.
 
Sen. Charles Grassley, an Iowa Republican, is one of the senators behind the bill. He says the proposal wouldn't affect hunting tools in any way.