Common sense? LOL! You're kiddin', right? We're talking about the gov't here, remember? [8D]

IMO, it's because compound bow technology has advanced to the point where there is no longer 'a clear and demonstrable difference' between compounds and crossbows. Also, Pope and Young erasing their let-off restrictions has left them with no credibility on the issue. And the garbage from the PBS anti-crossbow committee is so blatantly false and easy to disprove that they never had any credibility. And there's a bunch of Boomers like me who are getting a little long in the tooth and either need to go crossbow or quit bowhunting. That's some political clout, right there, and politicians know it. Those are the reasons for the snowball gaining momentum.

We got within a hair's breadth of getting a bill through the legislature here in Texas last year. Maybe next time.