Committee pauses bill on liability protection for youth shooting sports after members raise concerns

Representative Puryear introduced House Bill 1007, saying the measure would "create liability protections for individuals who choose to open up their property for use shooting sports." He told the committee the bill borrows language from existing equine competition law and aims to encourage more opportunities for youth to participate in shooting sports.

Members pressed the sponsor on scope and potential consequences. Representative Hudson asked, "Where in the bill does it say that this only applies to nonprofits?" — noting the draft contains no explicit nonprofit limitation. Puryear acknowledged his intent focused on non‑profit youth events but said the bill text is not limited to nonprofits.

Several members raised safety and access concerns. One member argued that litigation can encourage safe behavior by venue operators; another said the bill could remove recourse for injured participants unless conduct were "willful and wanton." Puryear repeatedly said he hoped the bill would give landowners "a little peace of mind" to open or reopen ranges for youth participation, but acknowledged he was not a lawyer and had not fully researched similar statutes in other states.

Committee members asked whether the bill requires events to carry insurance, whether it applies to for‑profit ranges, and whether the statutory language should be tightened to limit immunity to the sponsor's stated intent. Representative Tosh and others urged the sponsor to revise the draft to limit coverage to nonprofit or youth events; Representative Tosh said the change would be "an easy fix."

A motion by Representative Pierce to postpone action and table the bill was offered and put to a voice vote; the chair announced "The noes have it," and the motion to table failed. After further discussion, Representative Puryear asked to pull the bill down voluntarily so he could work with attorneys and committee members to tighten the language; the chair granted that request without opposition.

The transcript records no formal roll‑call tally; multiple members voiced substantive reservations about the bill's breadth, including its lack of a definition of "shooting sports event," absence of any insurance requirement, and the fact that the text as drafted would apply equally to for‑profit ranges.

Ending: The sponsor agreed to consult attorneys and return with revised language; the committee allowed the bill to be pulled without opposition. No new hearing date was set in the transcript.