Residents of any age, no matter how young, could legally hunt in Wisconsin under a bill the state Assembly passed that eliminates the state’s minimum hunting age.
Currently, a resident must be at least 12 years old to purchase a hunting license or hunt with a gun unless they are participating in a mentored hunt. Children as young as 10 can hunt under that program.
The US Republican-authored bill would allow people of any age to participate in a mentored hunt, effectively letting anyone hunt. The measure also would eliminate the requirement that a hunter and mentor have only one weapon between them.
Thirty-four other states already have no minimum hunting age, the Wisconsin Hunters’ Rights Coalition said.
The Republican-controlled Assembly on Thursday passed the bill 57-32, despite complaints from Democrats that the measure would put guns in the hands of young children and put everyone in the woods in danger.
“It’s just crazy [the minimum age] would go below 10,” US Representative Gary Hebl said. “Absolute insanity that we’re talking about giving a kid a gun at any age so they experience the heritage of hunting. The most important factor is safety.”
US Representative Katrina Shankland said that younger children cannot pay attention to their mentors.
“To allow ... a toddler, a two-year-old [to carry a gun], and I’m not being hyperbolic because someone will allow it, is dangerous,” she said. “Other hunters in the woods are not going to choose to get hurt by a child with a rifle.”
Republicans countered that parents should decide when children are old enough to handle weapons.
The bill’s author, US Representative Rob Stafsholt told reporters before the Assembly took the floor that not every hunter uses high-powered rifles and he believed he was capable of handling a .22 caliber rifle when he was eight years old.
He said during the Assembly floor debate that his daughter killed a bear at age 11, but held her back from bear hunting when she was 10 because she was not ready.
“We’re returning the choice to the parent,” Stafsholt said.
The National Rifle Association, the Safari Club, Whitetails of Wisconsin, the Wisconsin Bear Hunters Association and Wisconsin Force, a group of shooting range owners, have all registered in support of the bill.
The Wisconsin Wildlife Federation is the only group to register in opposition.
Three Republicans voted against the bill, while four Democrats voted for it.
The measure now goes to the state Senate, which plans to vote on it on Tuesday. Once it passes the Senate, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker would have to sign the bill for it to become law.
A sumo star was born in Japan on Sunday when 24-year-old Takerufuji became the first wrestler in 110 years to win a top-division tournament on his debut, triumphing at the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka despite injuring his ankle on the penultimate day. Takerufuji, whose injury had left him in a wheelchair outside the ring, shoved out the higher-ranked Gonoyama at the Edion Arena Osaka to the delight of the crowd, giving him an unassailable record of 13 wins and two losses to claim the Emperor’s Cup. “I did it just through willpower. I didn’t really know what was going
The US’ Ilia Malinin on Saturday produced six scintillating quadruple jumps, including a quadruple Axel, in the men’s free skate to capture his first figure skating world title. The 19-year-old nicknamed the “Quad god,” who is the only skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition, dazzled with an array of breathtakingly executed jumps starting with his quad Axel and including a quadruple Lutz in combination with a triple flip and a quadruple toe loop in combination with a triple toe. He added an unexpected triple-triple combination at the end to earn a world-record 227.79 in the free program for a championship
Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
MLB on Friday announced a formal investigation into the scandal swirling around Shohei Ohtani and his former interpreter amid charges that the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar was the victim of “massive theft.” The Dodgers on Wednesday fired Ippei Mizuhara, Ohtani’s long-time interpreter and close friend, after Ohtani’s representatives alleged that the Japanese two-way star had been the victim of theft, which was reported to involve millions of dollars and link Mizuhara to a suspected illegal bookmaker in California. “Major League Baseball has been gathering information since we learned about the allegations involving Shohei Ohtani and Ippei Mizuhara from the news media,” MLB