Greg Markkanen

LANSING — House Bill 4285 passed in the Michigan House Wednesday, a bill that would present Michigan schools the option of offering hunter safety programs for grades 6 through 12. The bill passed with overwhelming support, 101 – 7, with two not voting. Among those who supported the bill were State Reps. Karl Bohnak (R-Deerton) and Greg Markkanen (R-Hancock). Bohnak issued a release regarding the passage of the bill.

“Hunting heritage runs deep in the Upper Peninsula,” Bohnak said. “However, in recent years, fewer and fewer people have taken up the tradition and become hunters. If we can equip students with the training they need to be hunters, maybe we can reignite a love of the outdoors in kids throughout the U.P. and across Michigan.”

The bill creates an elective firearm safety program that is accessible to all schools with the program being adopted by the Michigan Department of Education in consultation with the Michigan DNR. The course would teach proper usage and handling of firearms, maintenance and cleaning of firearms, an understanding of different types of firearms and safe hunting practices.

The teaching of the course would be conducted by DNR certified hunter-education instructors and school boards have the option of offering the course as part of physical education or an optional extracurricular class. Students can be excused from attending it without penalty by their own request or the request of their parents or guardians. Firearms or ammunition would not be able to be brought into a school building as part of the program.

Markkanen sees this as an opportunity for students to gain access to hunter safety who were unable to before.

“The U.P., I think we got the best-case scenario because we have sportsmen groups from east to west and north to south, and the majority of them take care of the training out at the clubs,” Markkanen said. “They have ranges out there, and they do it safely, and get the kids through the class. [In] downstate Michigan, that’s not always the case. So we wanted to all kids to have options through schools, to get trained up and get their gun safety permit and be able to go out and hunt.”

Markkanen pointed to the dropping numbers of hunters throughout Michigan, and believes this program could be a way to get students further interested in the outdoors.

“We want numbers to go up across the U.P. It’s good for the environment and the wildlife. Money gets spent and it gets families together over generations– grandparents, aunts and uncles and cousins together. Hunting camps used to be a big part of the social fabric across the U.P., and they’re starting to fade. And we want to bring it back.”