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May 30, 2018
NSSF Q&A: U.S. Rep. Rob Bishop
Editor’s Note: We are pleased to post the latest of our occasional Q&A features with an elected official who supports hunting and the shooting sports. NSSF thanks U.S. Rep. Rob Bishop (R-Utah, 1st), Chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Natural Resources, for agreeing to talk with us.
Who introduced you to hunting/the shooting sports and at what age?
My brother took me pheasant hunting for the first time in Utah when I was 8 years old.
What was your most recent shooting sports/hunting activity? With whom?
Last fall, a handful of friends and I shot clays at a range in Maryland.
Describe your favorite shooting sport/hunting activity? Where?
One of the first bird refuges created in the United States was in my hometown of Brigham City, Utah. In those days, there were hunting refuges where notables, like Branch Rickey & Clark Gable, would come and pass the time. One of my favorite photos shows Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig posing just after a duck hunt.
Hunting and sport shooting are ennobling pastimes, and these activities must be protected, not curtailed.
Which piece of pending legislation related to the firearms industry is particularly important to you and why?
The “Sportsman’s Heritage and Recreational Enhancement Act,” also known as the SHARE Act, is a package of legislation designed specifically to protect and promote the interests of sportsmen. Within the SHARE Act, there is a provision which removes ambiguity from ATF rules and would safeguard against political attacks on many popular types of sporting ammunition.
Additionally, Rep. Duncan Hunter has introduced an important bill called the “Target Practice and Marksmanship Training Support Act,” which will make it easier for Americans to utilize their public lands for recreational shooting and safety training.
What do you see as the challenges and opportunities for hunters and shooting sports enthusiasts in this congressional session?
Access is a challenge. Too often, the federal government curtails access to public lands. Especially in the west, we should be opening areas and creating opportunities for hunting and fishing. It’s the government that tries to limit these kinds of experiences, and it is long past time for that to change. As a congressman, it is my responsibility to create more freedom for sportsmen and safeguard those liberties from those would attack them for political gain.
Thanks to the good efforts of groups like NSSF, I think people up here on Capitol Hill are becoming more and more aware of the challenges our constituents face when it comes to finding places to get out and shoot.
You may also be interested in: NSSF Q&A: U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas)
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