Wisconsin law would allow toddlers to hunt

By Brain Lisi, New York Daily News 

AKs before pre-K.

A sizeable majority of Wisconsin's Assembly passed a bill that seeks to eliminate the state's minimum hunting age.

The Republican-controlled body voted 57-32 Thursday to erase the current restrictions that say you must be at least 12 years old if you wish to hunt with a gun or purchase a hunting license.

Children as young as 10 can currently go hunting if they're participating in a mentored hunt.

"To allow ... a toddler, a 2-year-old (to carry a gun), and I'm not being hyperbolic because someone will allow it, is dangerous," said Democratic Rep. Katrina Shankland of the NRA-supported legislation. "Other hunters in the woods are not going to choose to get hurt by a child with a rifle."

GOP lawmakers argue that it should be up to families to choose at what age their children can use a firearm.

"We're returning the choice to the parent," said Rep. Rob Stafsholt, author of the bill.

Democrats in the state Senate say the measure would put everyone in the woods in danger. (SCOTT BAUER/AP)

While debating the legislation on the Assembly floor, Stafsholt described how his daughter once killed a bear when she was 11.

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On Tuesday the bill is set for a vote in the state Senate, where Republicans also outnumber Democrats 20 to 13, before it can reach the desk of conservative Gov. Scott Walker.