Explore The NRA Universe Of Websites

APPEARS IN News Hunting

Third Time’s the Charm? Sportsmen’s Legislation Passes House in Third Consecutive Congress

Friday, February 26, 2016

Third Time’s the Charm? Sportsmen’s Legislation Passes House in Third Consecutive Congress

On Friday, a bipartisan majority in the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Sportsmen’s Heritage and Recreational Enhancement (SHARE) Act of 2015. The bill now heads to the Senate, where a similar package, the Bipartisan Sportsmen’s Act of 2015, has already advanced out of the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources and the Committee on Environment and Public Works. This is the third straight Congress in which the House has passed far-reaching sportsmen’s legislation, with the prior versions falling prey to election-driven bottlenecks in the Senate. Hopefully, the third time will prove the charm for this important legislative package.

The SHARE Act is a compilation of a number of separate acts, several of which have been pending in one form or another for many years. The overarching goal is to promote America’s heritage of hunting, fishing, and recreational shooting. This year’s version would enhance access to public lands for hunting, fishing and shooting, protect the right of self-defense, and curtail punitive regulations promoted by “animal rights” and environmental extremists.

The overarching goal is to promote America’s heritage of hunting, fishing, and recreational shooting. For example, the bill contains the Target Practice and Marksmanship Training Support Act, which would allow a greater proportion of the federal excise tax on firearms and ammunition to be returned to the states for the use of acquiring land for public target ranges. It also includes the Recreational Lands Self- defense Act, which ensures that otherwise lawfully-possessed firearms cannot be prohibited in publicly- accessible recreational areas under the jurisdiction of the Army Corps of Engineers. The Recreational Fishing and Hunting Heritage and Opportunities Act, as the name implies, would require that management plans of the U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management facilitate hunting, fishing, and recreational shooting. Other provisions authorize the National Park Service to establish hunter access corridors and require it to allow the transportation of hunting bows if certain requirements are met. Additional components would protect hunters against overly-expansive ivory regulations and allow for the importation of trophies from polar bears that were lawfully harvested before their listing as a threatened species.

The House also defeated a number of adverse amendments that would have diluted or defeated the purposes of the bill. Meanwhile, a critically important amendment introduced by Rep. Morgan Griffith (R-VA) was adopted to clarify 1986’s Firearm Owner’s Protection Act, which, among other things, protects the lawful transport of firearms from one location where they are legal to another. This amendment is in response to states like New York and New Jersey that continue to defy these federal protections. It would more clearly delineate what behavior is protected and provide remedies for persons whose rights under FOPA are violated.

The NRA thanks Speaker Paul Ryan, (R-WI), Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) and Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-LA). We also appreciate the hard work of Natural Resources Committee Chairman Rob Bishop  (R-UT), Rules Committee Chairman Pete Sessions (R-TX) and the lead sponsors of the bill: Reps. Robert Wittman (R-VA), Tim Walz (D-MN), Jeff Duncan (R-SC) and Gene Green (D-TX) on moving this legislation through the House.

Please contact your Senators and urge them to vote in favor of the SHARE Act, a longstanding effort whose time has come!

IN THIS ARTICLE
Hunting Second Amendment
TRENDING NOW
U.S. Senate Forced to Remove Pro-Gun Language from Reconciliation Bill

News  

Friday, June 27, 2025

U.S. Senate Forced to Remove Pro-Gun Language from Reconciliation Bill

Today, the U.S. Senate was forced to remove the pro-gun language that had been previously included in the Reconciliation Bill currently making its way through the chamber. We explained in a previous article that this language would, ...

U.S. Senate Adds Pro-Gun Tax Relief Language Back into Reconciliation Bill

News  

Saturday, June 28, 2025

U.S. Senate Adds Pro-Gun Tax Relief Language Back into Reconciliation Bill

Overnight, the U.S. Senate added pro-gun tax relief language back into the Reconciliation bill after the Senate Parliamentarian struck out an earlier provision.  While this new provision is not as expansive as the language we advocated for which ...

U.S. House Passes Reconciliation Bill, Removing Suppressors from the National Firearms Act

News  

Second Amendment  

Thursday, May 22, 2025

U.S. House Passes Reconciliation Bill, Removing Suppressors from the National Firearms Act

Earlier today, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R.1 the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which included Section 2 of the Hearing Protection Act, completely removing suppressors from the National Firearms Act (NFA).

U.S. Court of Appeals Backtracks on Adverse Suppressor Ruling

News  

Monday, June 23, 2025

U.S. Court of Appeals Backtracks on Adverse Suppressor Ruling

In a single sentence, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit added to the high-profile and consequential national conversation on firearm suppressors.

North Carolina: Update on Gun Bills Moving through the General Assembly

Tuesday, June 24, 2025

North Carolina: Update on Gun Bills Moving through the General Assembly

Recently, House Bill 193 (H193) was reported favorably out of both the Senate Judiciary Committee and the Senate Rules Committee, with amendments.

Ninth Circuit Strikes Down CA’s One-Gun-A-Month Law

Friday, June 20, 2025

Ninth Circuit Strikes Down CA’s One-Gun-A-Month Law

Today, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals held that California’s law prohibiting people from buying more than one firearm in a 30-day period violates the Second Amendment.

News  

Second Amendment  

Friday, June 27, 2025

Joint Statement from Pro-Gun Groups on the Senate Reconciliation Bill

On behalf of millions of NRA members and gun owners, we stand united in calling on Congress to uphold Americans' Second Amendment rights and zero out the NFA's excise tax on suppressors and short-barreled firearms.

Minnesota: Shotgun-Only Hunting Zones Repealed

Friday, June 20, 2025

Minnesota: Shotgun-Only Hunting Zones Repealed

On Monday, June 9th, outside of regular session, the Senate passed the Environment Omnibus bill, removing shotgun-only hunting zones in the state. 

Senate Finance Committee Releases Text of Reconciliation Bill

News  

Monday, June 16, 2025

Senate Finance Committee Releases Text of Reconciliation Bill

Today, the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance released its portion of the Senate version of the Reconciliation Bill. Late last month, the U.S. House passed a version of the Reconciliation Bill which included Section 2 of the ...

Oregon: Omnibus Gun-Control Bill Heads to the Governor's Desk

Friday, June 27, 2025

Oregon: Omnibus Gun-Control Bill Heads to the Governor's Desk

With only two days left in the legislative session, the Oregon legislature has allowed the passage of Senate Bill 243, the gun control omnibus package. SB 243 has been transmitted to Governor Tina Kotek's desk ...

MORE TRENDING +
LESS TRENDING -

More Like This From Around The NRA

NRA ILA

Established in 1975, the Institute for Legislative Action (ILA) is the "lobbying" arm of the National Rifle Association of America. ILA is responsible for preserving the right of all law-abiding individuals in the legislative, political, and legal arenas, to purchase, possess and use firearms for legitimate purposes as guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.