BREAKING: Senate Passes Tester’s Bipartisan Bill to Protect Hunter Safety Classes, Heads to President’s Desk

Senator’s bipartisan bill now awaits President’s signature to become law

The U.S. Senate today passed U.S. Senator Jon Tester’s bipartisan legislation that would force the Biden Administration to reverse course on their decision to prohibit the use of federal funds for hunter safety classes. Tester’s bipartisan bill now heads to the President’s desk to be signed into law.

Tester spoke on the Senate floor ahead of the final passage of his bipartisan bill and urged his colleagues to join him to defend Montana’s way of life.

“In Montana and across rural America, our schools have long offered hunter safety classes that teach our students gun safety and personal responsibility. But recently the Biden Administration and bureaucrats in Washington who don’t understand our Montana values decided to block funding for these important education programs. Let me be clear: I think that’s a poor decision that will hurt thousands of students who benefit from these resources every year,” said Tester on the Senate floor. 

Tester continued: “That’s why I am pushing for this bipartisan fix that will require the Department of Education to restore school districts’ ability to use federal dollars for school archery or gun safety or hunter education programs. Look folks: When Republicans and Democrats came together to pass the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, we did so to ensure our kids are safe when they go to school. Our commonsense bill will make sure we stay true to that intent by educating our future generations on the importance of responsible gun ownership and hunting, which will only make our students and communities safer. And it will protect Montana’s longstanding and proud tradition of hunting and shooting sports which are central to our Montana way of life.”

As part of his efforts to protect Montanans’ Second Amendment rights, Tester has led the charge to push back against the Biden Administration’s decision to strip funding from these longstanding gun safety classes. 

Tester’s bipartisan legislation would require the Department of Education to restore school districts’ ability to use federal resources for school archery, gun safety, and hunter education programs. In addition to introducing his bipartisan legislation, Tester expressed his concerns in a letterto the Secretary of Education after learning the Department interpreted the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (BSCA) in a way that would block federal funding from being used for these long-standing programs.

Last week, Tester penned a column in Montana state-wide newspapers arguing that the Biden Administration is making “a poor decision that will hurt thousands of students who benefit from these resources every year.”

As a proud gun owner and strong supporter of the Second Amendment, Tester has repeatedly opposed banning assault weapons and will always protect the rights of law-abiding Montana gun owners.