Protect The Harvest | California Took Aim at Youth Hunting and Missed

Promoting youth hunting and youth hunter education was for a short time considered illegal in California due to a recent bill that passed. Assembly Bill 2571 was passed by the California House of Representatives and Senate and then signed into law by Governor Newsom on June 30, 2022.

This bill was proposed as a ban on marketing firearms to youth but also included a ban on marketing activities that involve firearms and their accessories.

This bill effectively banned the promotion of:

Youth hunter education
High school shooting teams
Youth hunting events
Youth firearms training
Any activity that involves minors and firearms or firearm-related products

Ninety days after the bill was signed into law and the state’s youth shooting teams were thrown into turmoil, another bill (AB 160) was signed into law protecting youth shooting sports, hunting, and hunter education.

Who Would Have Been Affected?

The California State High School Clay Target League had put up a notification on its website stating:

“Due to recent legislation from the California State Assembly, and signed into Law by Gov. Gavin Newsom, the USA Clay Target League, DBA USA High School Clay Target League/California State High School Clay Target League, has been forced by law to suspend all operations within California.”

“As a school-based activity serving students from 6th-12th grade,