Does this include manually operated lawn equipment or just gas/electric?

You know you love it!

It's such a rock solid argument...I can't get enough of it.[8D]

Both, we don't want you to have a false sense of safety just because it's not a gas powered tool!

The total number of households and commercial buildings in a state that require the use of these tools, combined with the number of operators of these intruments, I think is a much greater number, than the number of bowhunters in the state. Statistically speculating.

LOL.

Aside from what I have commented on before.

I would say that having bowhunting education courses mandatory could only help the perception of how non-hunting hunters (not PETA, they are a different bunch) perceive hunters. Which is important IMO.

EXACTLY!...That is my point, there is minimal (none?)state mandated skills and safety training for private operation of lawn tools....despite the fact that it impacts so many people....so then why should there be state mandated training for something (bowhunting) that impacts relatively few people?

I dont see why not, i had to take one in order to hunt here in NY. Its not like its torture or anything, sit around and talking hunting for about 8 hours wheres the harm in that??

A- Freaking Men Bob. That is the point I was trying to get across earlier. The large part of the course is teaching us ethics and how to increase our chances of getting the non-hunting public to side with us as hunters. Only a small part of it is how to handle the bow safely. 98% of the classes I teach are hunters with atleast 20+ years of hunting experience and like I said before not one has said the course was useless. In fact I would love to be able to show you a video of the students trying to place the vitals of a deer in the proper place on the outline of a deer. You'd be amazed at the number of people that honestly don't have a clue where the liver, heart and lungs location is in a deer.

Badgergirl, it really is lost on you that this is a weapon that is designed to kill, and the state and federal Gov't are permitting if not promoting it's use on public lands. They will make sure you have the necessary training before they "allow" you to access "public" land with a weapon that kills. The more I hear you, I know why it is "mandated" in some states. Sometimes the Gov't needs to protect it's citizens. Remember, you have "access" to public land legally, you may not use it, but in the states eyes, you have access. Wow.