On Wednesday, June 21, the House Environment and Natural Resources Committee voted to substitute H 8171.
The amended bill, H 8171 Sub A, removes all language except that relating specifically to the act of hunting via the internet or hosting a site that facilitates hunting via the internet.
Originally, under the guise of attempting to ban "internet hunting," the bill would have outlawed future firearm technologies and the type of remote control hunting commonly practiced by the severely disabled. If that were not enough, H 8171 would have required disabled persons to obtain a special license allowing them to use "remote" technology for hunting. To do so, they would have had to prove to the state, in person, that they are in fact disabled with the possibility that the state can force them to get proof from a physician at their own expense. Even then, disabled hunters would still not have been guaranteed permits.
H 8171 Sub A now only contains language banning “internet hunting” and all language that could outlaw future technologies or that unfairly targets the disabled has been removed.
A special thank you to all Rhode Island NRA members who called their legislator to help support hunting for the disabled.
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