Pink: GA’s Newest Deer-Hunting Color

Gov. Brian Kemp signed HB 167 into law on May 9. Carly Lennig, of Dacula, is pictured below with Rep. Leesa Hagan, who sponsored the bill that now makes it legal for hunter to wear safety pink instead of orange.

Deer hunters like options. Here’s a new one for you: Hunters now have a second color option when adorning their 500 square inches of safety colors in order to meet the state’s requirement. Instead of wearing traditional orange, hunters now have the option to wear pink instead. It all started when Carly Lennig, of Dacula, now 16 years old, began asking questions in 2021.

“One evening my dad, our old neighbor Terry Crump and I were sitting around talking about hunting, and I had a pair of gloves with pink in them, and I was like, ‘Why is pink not legal to wear in Georgia?” asked Carly.

The upcoming junior at Mill Creek High School in Hoschton is the one responsible for HB 167, the bill that Gov. Brian Kemp recently signed into law that made fluorescent pink an option for hunters.

“We started researching this three years ago and only a couple of states allowed pink in addition to orange, so I wrote a proposal,” said Carly.

Carly is quick to share that she had plenty of help along the way as she went from pen and paper to the Gold Dome.

“When I was in the eighth grade, I was in social studies and learning about the General Assembly,” said Carly. “I got my teacher to read it and asked for any helpful hints to add and make it better. Then my language arts teacher looked it over for grammar issues, and she loved it, so we moved.”

Carly and her dad Jason reached out to their local legislator and House Majority Leader Chuck Efstration in 2024.

“He jumped right on it and contacted Rep. Leesa Hagan (District 156) to be the sponsor,” said Jason. “Then Rep. Hagan reached out to Carly to talk about it.”

The only line of concern in the process as it went through the House and Senate during the 2024 legislative session was whether the addition of pink would affect those who are color blind. However, research shows that those who can’t see pink can’t see orange either, so it turned out to be a mute point.

“This has opened up a new window to see the legislative process up close, something not a lot at my age get to see,” said Carly. “To get this close has been a real eye-opening experience.”

The bill didn’t get signed into law in 2024, but it finally received Gov. Kemp’s signature on May 9, 2025.

Don’t be too surprised to see Carly under the Gold Dome decades from now wearing a business suit, maybe entertaining thoughts from kids about bills they’d like to see discussed. In the meantime, she’ll be looking for some more deer to put in the freezer.

“I started hunting in 2020, and over past five years, I have shot six deer, and two of those were 6- and 8-pointers,” said Carly. “I hunt mainly with my dad or Terry.”

Terry is certainly partially to thank for HB 167. He invited Carly’s brother Nate hunting in 2016, which led to Jason and Carly finding themselves hooked on hunting.

“He is a wealth of hunting and outdoor knowledge and really drove the conversation and planted the idea of her trying to get it changed,” said Jason.

“I just love being out in nature, and I am always with dad or Terry, and it’s just a great bonding experience. I like to experience a sport that many of my peers have never experienced,” said Carly.

While the serenity and bonding time keeps Carly returning, she enjoys the end goal, as well.

“It gets your adrenaline pumping to see a deer. We get it processed and eat chili, hamburgers, sausage or jerky,” she said.

You can certainly expect Carly in pink this October, and she hopes this new law will spur more interest in hunting.

“With this passing, I hope with pink being another option in addition to orange, it draws more women, and young women, into a sport I love doing. It will be more fun and add more color to a sport that is so much fun to do. And who doesn’t love to have a picture with a deer and you’re wearing pink in the picture?” said Carly.

Carly with the pen Gov. Kemp used to sign her bill into law.