by Mark Chesnut - Monday, October 9, 2023
President Joe Biden on Friday signed a bipartisan measure restoring funding to schools with archery and hunter education programs. Under the auspices of last year’s ill-conceived Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (BCSA), the administration in June cut the funding provided by the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) of 1965.
The president’s signing of the bipartisan Protecting Hunting Heritage and Education Act (HR 5110) was a huge victory for the National Rifle Association, America’s sportsmen and women, and millions of students across the country who participate in these classes and the future of our hunting heritage.
U.S. Rep. Mark Green (R-Tenn.), the author of the measure in the House, was quick to recognize that last year’s BCSA, which was cloaked as a community safety measure, was not intended to defund schools with archery and hunter programs.
“The Biden administration’s reckless misinterpretation of the Safer Communities Act unfairly targeted archery and shooting sports in K-12 schools,” Green said, in a speech on the House floor before the 424-to-1 vote. “Democrats and Republicans agree the Biden administration missed the target—by a long shot. Under the Department of Education’s current interpretation of the law, other school activities like fencing and the culinary arts would also be at risk. This is unacceptable.”
President Biden didn’t make a statement when signing the bill—and it’s doubtful whether he really wanted to do so as there are few restrictions on gun owners that he hasn’t supported in his long political career and he has specifically targeted hunters on several recent occasions. But faced with an upcoming election and nearly every member of Congress opposing the scheme, it’s likely he didn’t want to force a battle against America’s longstanding hunting heritage that he didn’t have a chance of winning.
About the Author
Freelance writer and editor Mark Chesnut is the owner/editorial director at Red Setter Communications LLC in Jenks, Okla. An avid hunter, shooter and field-trialer, he has been covering Second Amendment issues and politics on a near-daily basis for almost 25 years.