Proposed legislation would allow hunters to wear blaze orange or pink. (File photo: Andrew Beckett)
Women make up the fastest growing segment of new hunters in the state, and a bill being considered in the Wisconsin Assembly would give them a new color option when it comes to picking out what they are wearing in the woods.
The bill from state Rep. Joel Kleefisch (R-Oconomowoc) and Nick Milroy (D-South Range) would add blaze pink to the list of approved colors hunters can wear for safety, instead of just the current blaze orange that must make up at least half of each article of clothing above the waist.
Kleefisch told a legislative committee Wednesday that he has “no illusions” about women flocking to hunting because of blaze pink being a color that’s allowed. However, he said many are already voting with their wallets by purchasing other gear made with the bright color. “There’s no coincidence that bright pink clothing is flying off the shelves…it’s not a coincidence that people are buying blaze pink firearms,” he said.
Kleefisch also noted that a University of Wisconsin textile expert determined blaze pink could be even more visible to other hunters than blaze orange, while actually being harder for deer to see.
An Assembly committee is currently considering the legislation.