Here is the list of the Senators in the Natural Resources Committee where the bill now sits after we were able to get it passed in the House of Representatives.
I will also include my email language below if you'd like to use some it to help you form your personal message to these elected officials to nudge them to take action and not let this bill die in the Senate! See below...
Email addresses:
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Greetings Senators and Natural Resources Committee,
My name is Chris Turek and I am a post 9/11 U.S. Army Veteran and also a hunting advocate here in the state of Michigan specifically dedicated to big bore airgun hunting.
House Bill 4332 (2019) for the use of Airbow hunting technology has been sitting in your committee for awhile now and the Michigan community of airgun hunters would like to see it pushed forward and passed into law.
I have been working for the last few years to help legalize the use of airbows during the archery season for disabled hunters and disabled Vets. Michigan was one of the very first states to legalize big bore airgun hunting during the regular firearms season and carries on a heritage of airgun hunting that dates back to Lewis and Clark as they used their Girandoni air rifle during their great Expedition in the early 1800s.
Technology has advanced and there is an opportunity to use similar technology as adaptive devices for the disabled citizens of Michigan to make hunting with arrows during the archery season more accessible and safer for them.
Here is the link to my House testimony video: https://youtu.be/28tV-S_AW7o and also an equipment demonstration to show ease of use for a disabled hunter: https://youtu.be/bV-l4CHLD7I
This would actually be an easy thing for the Natural Resources Commission (NRC) and the DNR to pass except for the fact that the Michigan Common Law does not specify arrows or bolts specifically in the law as a recognized projectile like it does pellets or bullets. Due to that issue - this has to be a legislative action vs. a NRC decision.
Some of the archery trade groups have come out against this through the MUCC as a protectionist move to protect "their woods" during the archery season. We are just asking for this technology to be used by those who truly need access to this technology as a handicapped adaptive device for the archery season and for arrows and bolts to be used as an approved projectile during the regular firearm seasons for all other hunters.
Passage of this bill would also open up Turkey season for disabled hunters to use this technology vs. having to use a shotgun that often has too much recoil for them to use due to their disability or a manually drawn bow that is also difficult so it just isn't about the Deer hunting season.
I have talked with the director at Michigan Operation Freedom Outdoors who focuses on disabled hunter advocacy and guided outdoor events. They do a bow fishing outing every year with disabled individuals and veterans where they have to use a crossbow which is cumbersome and hard to use let alone on a boat. The airbow technology would make this experience easier for them and safer.
Those against this bill are just being protectionist of their preferred version of hunting and are using mis-information to help push this bill back in the hopes it will just die in committee. I hope this will not happen. I would like to schedule a call or visit with your offices soon to discuss. Thank you for your service and your time!
Chris Turek
Traverse City, MI
