MADISON, Wis. — A bill that would legalize blaze pink hunting gear has cleared its first legislative hurdle.

The Assembly’s natural resources committee approved the measure on a 14-1 vote Wednesday. The vote clears the way for the full chamber to take up the bill.

Under current Wisconsin law, at least half of each article of clothing that gun deer hunters wear above the waist must be blaze orange. The bipartisan bill would allow hunters to wear fluorescent pink as well.

The bill’s authors maintain that the measure will encourage more women to take up hunting, give hunters more clothing options and give apparel manufacturers a boost.

University of Wisconsin-Madison textile expert Majid Sarmadi, who studied blaze pink’s visibility earlier this year, assured the committee earlier this month that blaze pink would be safe in the woods, saying it stands out better than orange against Wisconsin’s orange-brown fall landscape. He also said deer have an easier time seeing blaze orange than blaze pink, suggesting the color might camouflage hunters.

According to the National Assembly of Sportsmen’s Caucuses, no state has legalized blaze pink for hunting clothing.

A Maine legislator proposed a bill, LD 242, earlier this year that would have allowed hunters in the state to wear pink during October to raise breast cancer awareness but the measure died in committee.