AUGUSTA, Maine - The Maine Senate has approved a measure that would allow children younger than 10 years old to hunt, with their parents' permission.
Currently Maine law allows a junior hunter's license to 10-year-olds, provided they are accompanied by an adult. Sen. Paul Davis, a Republican from Sangerville, supports expanding that to even younger children.
"Thirty-nine states currently have this provision in their law, including the states of Vermont and New Hampshire," Davis said. "They allow the parents to decide when the children can go hunting."
Sen. Anne Haskell, a Portland Democrat, opposed the measure. She is concerned that younger children handling firearms pose a risk not only to themselves, but to older hunters others who might be in the same wooded area.
Haskell says any benefit simply does not outweigh the risk. The Senate disagreed, supporting the bill 26 to 6. It faces further legislative votes.
