Contact: Aaron White
Phone: 202-225-5506
Aaron.White@mail.house.gov
The bipartisan Target Practice and Marksmanship Training Support Act will give hunters and gun owners a safe location to teach responsible gun ownership and hunting safety
WASHINGTON – Friday evening, President Trump signed Rep. Ron Kind’s bipartisan bill, the Target Practice and Marksmanship Training Support Act, into law. The bill was introduced with Rob Bishop (R-Utah) in the House of Representatives, and companion legislation was introduced in the Senate by U.S. Sens. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.V.) and Michael Bennet (D-Colo.). The House bill was passed unanimously on April 29, 2019, and was sent to the President’s desk to be signed into law.
“Our public target ranges support Wisconsin’s outdoor recreation economy, give our hunters a place to hone their skills, and teach important hunter safety courses to young hunters throughout Wisconsin. I am happy to see my bipartisan bill, the Target Practice and Marksmanship Training Support Act, signed into law, and look forward to the bill supporting the growth and creation of shooting ranges across our state,” said Rep. Ron Kind.
Rep. Kind is a lifelong hunter and sportsman, and has passed that tradition on to his sons. He shoots trap at the Ettrick and Holmen shooting ranges in western Wisconsin.
The Target Practice and Marksmanship Training Support Act will give state fish and wildlife agencies more flexibility to build or expand shooting ranges. Shooting ranges provide hunters and gun owners a controlled and safe location to teach responsible gun ownership and hunting safety.
The number of public target ranges has declined across the country, due in part to closed ranges on federal lands. The Target Practice and Marksmanship Training Support Act will allow states to use Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act grants to create new target ranges or expand current ranges. The grant funding is provided by federal excise taxes from the sales of specific hunting equipment.
