‘Taylor's Law' proposed for young, terminally ill hunters

Taylor Gramling, 18, succumbed to leukemia in November, but not before fulfilling one last wish: Go on a hunt and bag a deer.

The successful outing, however, almost did not happen. The request came out of season, tying state wildlife officials' hands. Only a timely intervention by comedian Jeff Foxworthy, a board member of the Georgia Natural Resources Foundation, made the hunt possible. Foxworthy has a farm that holds a special out-of-season deer hunting permit.

Sen. Rick Jeffares, R-Locust Grove, had been among those helping Gramling, and it inspired him to never have that happen again. Jeffares this week filed Senate Bill 309, which would allow state officials to grant special hunting privileges to anyone 21 years or younger with a terminal illness, provided they have proper supervision and follow the usual rules.