Proposed Changes to Minimum Hunting Age

A new bill introduced in the State Senate last week would eliminate the minimum hunting age.

Right now a child can legally hunt with a gun at age 12.

Under the proposed legislation a child of any age would be allowed to hunt with a bow or a gun as long as they're accompanied by an experienced guardian who is at least 21 years old.

Some local hunters say it could be a good idea, if its done properly.

At the buck pole in Perry, its all about the size of the deer and how many points it has.

For the most part, the hunters there agree the younger you are when you put a deer up on the pole, the better.

Tim Donaldson, Hunter: "It brings the kids into the sport gets them started, there's so much of it that's going away, even fishing at such a young age there's so many people that just don't do it anymore."

Michael Brown, Hunter: "It just gets more kids into the woods and not on the couch playing the Gameboy."

And that's the idea behind Senate Majority Leader Randy Richardville's proposed legislation.

Richardville: "We think that the government gets involved in people lives too much as it is and by doing this you actually turn people to other habits besides going out in the woods and hunting at younger ages."

Richardville says parents should be allowed to decide when their child is ready to hunt; but some hunters say the plan could spell danger.

Larry Ridenour, Hunter: "I think its an ok idea but there's always potential for something to go wrong."

Ridenour has been shooting guns since he was 8 years old, he says the bill should require the supervisor be a parent.

Ridenour: "They're the ones that if something goes wrong they're ultimately responsible."

Most hunters we spoke with agree, getting kids involved in the sport is important.

Ridenour: "Take your kids out hunting, get em out there hunting and expose them to our heritage."

Hunters are hoping younger kids will help keep tradition alive.

Senator Richardville says the Senate will have at least one hearing on the bill but doesn't expect it will make its way to the Governor during this lame duck session.

By: WLNS- Michigan

Washington Gun Owners' Appeal Seeks to Weaken City's Firearms Restrictions

Gun owners in Washington told a federal appeals court that the city’s firearm registration process and a ban on some assault rifles violate their constitutional rights.

The lawyer for Dick Heller, the plaintiff in a U.S. Supreme Court case in 2008 that expanded Second Amendment rights, argued to the three-judge panel today that the District of Columbia’s regulations are so burdensome that gun owners are deprived of their constitutional rights. The rules are inconsistent with high court rulings, including Heller’s earlier case, he said.

The lawsuit, dubbed Heller II by gun rights advocates, seeks to overturn restrictions the city imposed after Heller’s Supreme Court victory ended Washington’s almost total ban on guns.

“The district responded to the Supreme Court’s decision in D.C. v. Heller by passing the most radically restrictive gun law nationwide,” Heller’s lawyer, Stephen Halbrook told the three- judge panel today.

If the appeals court side with Heller again, gun rights activists in other jurisdictions would have an influential ruling to build on, Halbroook in an interview.

Washington requires residents who want to keep a gun at home to be fingerprinted and photographed by police, provide a five-year work history, and note their intended use of the weapon. Residents must register every firearm they own every three years. Applicants must allow police to run ballistic tests on each gun they register. Firearms defined by the city as assault weapons and magazines that hold more than 10 bullets are banned.

Halbrook told the judges the Supreme Court determined the Second Amendment right to own a gun is a fundamental right, limiting the scope of government restrictions.

The solicitor general for the District of Columbia, Todd Kim, replied that the city has authority to keep tabs on who owns guns within its borders and to keep out certain types of weapons.

“Our constitution guarantees a right to keep and bear arms, but not to keep guns secret from the government or possess military style weapons and high capacity magazines,” Kim said in court.

Heller filed the current challenge in July 2008, just 12 days after Washington lawmakers passed emergency legislation to comply with the high court ruling in the first Heller case. A federal trial judge dismissed the case in March after finding that the city’s regulations were an appropriate balance between public safety and an individual’s right to own a gun.

The case is Heller v. District of Columbia 10-07036, U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.

By: Tom Schoenberg,

Gun ban goes before Portland City Council

PORTLAND, Maine (NEWS CENTER) - Gun rights will be on the agenda tonight at the Portland city council meeting.

The full council will decide whether to vote on a resolution that would call on the state legislature to make it illegal to bring guns in to public places where crowds gather, like City Hall.

The Portland Public Safety Committee approved the measure then it was put up for public comment.

City council will also get public input on the issue tonight at 7pm. Then councilors will be asked to vote on whether the legislation should move forward.

Gun rights advocates are against the proposal, saying it infringes on the second amendment of the Constitution.

But supporters say it's simply a matter of basic public safety.

By: Heather O'Bryan, WCSH-Portland