Florescent pink coming to a forest near you?

WORLAND – Wyoming Senate File 61, a bill which would allow people hunting in Wyoming to wear either florescent orange or florescent pink passed through the Senate on Feb. 19.

On Wednesday, according to Rep. Jamie Flitner, the bill was laid back one day on second reading in the House. It will be considered today on second reading.

Flitner said Wednesday, “For me honestly, this bill is about safety and possible dollars injected into our retail sector.”

LEGISLATOR COMMENTS

During the Committee of the Whole [first reading] co-sponsor Rep. Flitner (R-Greybull) explained that scientific data supports that florescent pink in the field is more visible to the human eye. She quoted University of Wisconsin-Madison textile science professor Majid Sarmadi, who studied the matter to say,” A dead hunter is not a macho hunter,” and that he would personally wear florescent pink out into the field.

MORE VISIBLE

According to information from Sarmadi, “It is well known that blaze orange provides a very good contrast in the wooded areas in the spring and summer. However, when visually compared to the orange colors found in the fall leaves, blaze orange was harder to detect than the pink colors that were tested.”

Rep. Jim Allen (R-Lander) added, “Since I’m such a fashion forward guy, I just wanted to add, vote your conscience on this but the testimony from the textile professor on the phone during committee was pretty compelling and he has done the research and he found that the human eye can detect pink far better than orange and this is a permissive bill and deer can’t see it as well as orange. He also said, ‘a dead hunter isn’t a very good hunter,’ so I will leave it at that.”

Rep. Bill Pownall (R-Gillette) urged House members to vote no on the bill. He stated he didn’t see the need to add another color even if pink stands out. “I am kind of curious why we want to change a standard color that’s been there for years, the standard color of orange. Scientific information may say that pink really stands out, I’m sure it does; you look into a crowd, audience; pink stands out. But I think orange has been the standard for years and I would hate to add another color while we are hunting. I would urge a no vote on this,” he said.

Prior to the Committee of the Whole vote, Rep. Stan Blake (R-Green River) said, “What’s the harm, somebody wants to wear pink, that’s fine, it’s just as visible as the orange, let the people wear them, whether its men, women it doesn’t matter. It is about freedom and choice.”

The law, if passed, will go into effect July 1.