By Robert Kittle
Hikers, mountain bikers, bird watchers, and anyone else who’s in a state Wildlife Management Area would have to wear safety orange during deer hunting season, under a bill the South Carolina House has passed. The idea behind the bill is that deer hunters have to wear orange for their protection so anyone else in that area should too.
Rep. Mike Pitts, R-Laurens, an avid hunter himself, is the sponsor of the bill.
“It’s something I personally would never do, is be on WMA hunting property during hunting season doing anything other than hunting, but quite a few people do, and they should have to wear orange for their own protection,” he says.
He filed the bill after being contacted by the state Department of Natural Resources. A hunter had contacted DNR after hunting and seeing movement in the brush, raising his gun and looking through the scope only to see a hiker.
According to the International Hunter Education Association, hunters accidentally shoot more than 1,000 people every year in the U.S. and Canada. Most are other hunters, but not all of them.
Pitts says people could wear a safety orange hat, vest, or jacket.
Tommy Brown of Columbia has been a backpacker and hiker for about 40 years, having hiked all over South Carolina, the Appalachian Trail, in California, and in British Columbia.
“Anytime you’re looking out for your own safety, I don’t think there would be an issue there, and I’ve, we’ve all heard stories of people walking in the woods and a hunter mistakes them for game and takes a shot at them,” he says. “So if that could be prevented by simply wearing something orange, I think that’s a great idea.”
A Senate subcommittee also passed the bill Wednesday, so it now goes to a full committee. It passed the House with a vote of 92-2.
You can see the entire bill here.
