Post by 4Pointer on Mar 11, 2008 10:06:15 GMT -5
Window for Youth Hunting Bill Closing in Wisconsin Senate
(Madison, Wisconsin) - Sportsmen ask Senators for a vote that will spur increased hunter numbers
With only days left in the 2007-2008 legislative session, the Wisconsin Senate has not held a vote on sportsmen's top priority, legislation to create a hunting mentorship program.
On March 5, the Wisconsin Assembly passed legislation expected to produce better hunter numbers. The bill, Assembly Bill 672, was authored by Representative Scott Gunderson. It has been the top priority of many Wisconsin and national sportsmen organizations since 2005. The Senate version of the bill, SB 529, has been approved in committee and is ready for a vote on the Senate floor.
Approval by the Senate and the signature of Governor Jim Doyle are all that stand in the way of a victorious end to the campaign.
“We were thrilled the Wisconsin Assembly passed a bill that will allow parents to pass on their hunting traditions to the next generation,” said Rob Sexton, vice president for government affairs for the U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance (USSA). “We’d be very disappointed to see this important legislation die in the Senate.”
Time is the issue. With only days left in the 2008 session, Senators will have to move quickly to pass Senate Bill 529 before the legislative deadline, sometime in mid-March. Indications from Senate Majority Leader, Russ Decker, and committee chairman, Senator Roger Breske, have been positive, but time is growing short.
The legislation is part of the national Families Afield campaign created by the National Wild Turkey Federation, National Shooting Sports Foundation and USSA. In Wisconsin, the bill has been enthusiastically supported by the National Rifle Association, Wisconsin Bear Hunters Association, Wisconsin chapters of Safari Club, Wisconsin State Chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation, Wisconsin Waterfowl Association, Wisconsin Wildlife Federation and more.
Under the proposed program, a new hunter, ten or older, could go hunting with an experienced sportsman as long as the two stayed within an arm’s reach. There can be only one firearm between the two hunters. The bill also repeals Wisconsin’s archaic prohibition of young people target shooting with their parents until age 12.
Similar programs have already passed in 24 states since 2004, including 2008 measures in Nebraska, South Dakota, Virginia and Wyoming. Neighboring Michigan, which launched its program in 2006, had 12,000 new hunters in just the first year of the program. There have been no accidents involving participants in any of the states that have passed mentored hunting legislation. It supports previous research that demonstrated that the safest hunter in the woods is one accompanied by an experienced mentor.
The success in other states has Wisconsin sportsmen wondering why they don’t deserve the same opportunity.
“Our hunting heritage is as crucial here in Wisconsin as any of the states that have already taken this step,” said Bill Torhorst, past president of the National Wild Turkey Federation. “We really need our senators to come through for sportsmen and pass Senate Bill 529.”
The U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance is a national association of sportsmen and sportsmen’s organization that protects the rights of hunters, anglers and trappers in the courts, legislatures, at the ballot, in Congress and through public education programs. For more information about the U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance and its work, call (614) 888-4868 or visit its website, www.ussportsmen.org.
(Madison, Wisconsin) - Sportsmen ask Senators for a vote that will spur increased hunter numbers
With only days left in the 2007-2008 legislative session, the Wisconsin Senate has not held a vote on sportsmen's top priority, legislation to create a hunting mentorship program.
On March 5, the Wisconsin Assembly passed legislation expected to produce better hunter numbers. The bill, Assembly Bill 672, was authored by Representative Scott Gunderson. It has been the top priority of many Wisconsin and national sportsmen organizations since 2005. The Senate version of the bill, SB 529, has been approved in committee and is ready for a vote on the Senate floor.
Approval by the Senate and the signature of Governor Jim Doyle are all that stand in the way of a victorious end to the campaign.
“We were thrilled the Wisconsin Assembly passed a bill that will allow parents to pass on their hunting traditions to the next generation,” said Rob Sexton, vice president for government affairs for the U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance (USSA). “We’d be very disappointed to see this important legislation die in the Senate.”
Time is the issue. With only days left in the 2008 session, Senators will have to move quickly to pass Senate Bill 529 before the legislative deadline, sometime in mid-March. Indications from Senate Majority Leader, Russ Decker, and committee chairman, Senator Roger Breske, have been positive, but time is growing short.
The legislation is part of the national Families Afield campaign created by the National Wild Turkey Federation, National Shooting Sports Foundation and USSA. In Wisconsin, the bill has been enthusiastically supported by the National Rifle Association, Wisconsin Bear Hunters Association, Wisconsin chapters of Safari Club, Wisconsin State Chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation, Wisconsin Waterfowl Association, Wisconsin Wildlife Federation and more.
Under the proposed program, a new hunter, ten or older, could go hunting with an experienced sportsman as long as the two stayed within an arm’s reach. There can be only one firearm between the two hunters. The bill also repeals Wisconsin’s archaic prohibition of young people target shooting with their parents until age 12.
Similar programs have already passed in 24 states since 2004, including 2008 measures in Nebraska, South Dakota, Virginia and Wyoming. Neighboring Michigan, which launched its program in 2006, had 12,000 new hunters in just the first year of the program. There have been no accidents involving participants in any of the states that have passed mentored hunting legislation. It supports previous research that demonstrated that the safest hunter in the woods is one accompanied by an experienced mentor.
The success in other states has Wisconsin sportsmen wondering why they don’t deserve the same opportunity.
“Our hunting heritage is as crucial here in Wisconsin as any of the states that have already taken this step,” said Bill Torhorst, past president of the National Wild Turkey Federation. “We really need our senators to come through for sportsmen and pass Senate Bill 529.”
The U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance is a national association of sportsmen and sportsmen’s organization that protects the rights of hunters, anglers and trappers in the courts, legislatures, at the ballot, in Congress and through public education programs. For more information about the U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance and its work, call (614) 888-4868 or visit its website, www.ussportsmen.org.
