Posted on 04/27/2017 5:56:41 PM PDT by SJackson
A proposed Constitutional amendment to “Establish the Right to Hunt and Fish” drew angry testimony from the anti-hunting and anti-trapping crowd.
“This bill is barbaric,” testified John Glowa of China, who called LD 11 “the worst piece of legislation I have seen in more than twenty years of coming before this committee, and I have seen some bad ones.” Glowa also called the bill “the poison fruit of the paranoia seed planted by the out-of-state gun lobby and by radical extremist consumptive users.”
And yes, that was way over the top. Katie Hansberry of the Humane Society of the United States, who is always well-prepared and courteous in her work at the legislature, testified “The Humane Society of the United States has worked with wildlife management agencies across the U.S. to combat poaching. And in recent years, we joined sportsmen and the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife to crack down on poaching by helping Maine become the first state in New England to join the Interstate Wildlife Violator Compact.
“We are concerned that putting a right to hunt in our constitution could amount to an open invitation for poachers to exploit it to their advantage, and could subject longstanding conservation laws to legal challenge from those arguing that this constitutional right exempts them from existing restrictions like bag limits or prohibitions on spotlight or road hunting. Unnecessarily putting this existing right into our constitution could invite lawsuits from individuals who want to argue that conservation laws on quotas, season closures, or land area closures could infringe upon their constitutional right to hunt and fish,” said Katie.
Karen Coker of WildWatch Maine joined in the criticism of the bill, testifying that, “It’s intent… is to silence Maine citizens concerned about unethical practices and to prevent citizens from initiating ballot initiatives on wildlife issues.” She said “This proposal’s vague terms open the door to inhumane, unethical trapping and hunting practices,” and called the bill “a legal nightmare.” She also insisted that “hunting and trapping and fishing are not fundamental rights.”
She might have a disagreement with Katie Hansberry on that, because Katie testified that “Mainers already have the right to hunt and fish.”
DIF&W’s Testimony
Tim Peabody, Deputy Commissioner of the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, surprised some supporters by testifying “neither for nor against” the bill. He called hunting and fishing “significant privileges” here in Maine.
Tim also noted that last year the legislature amended the Department’s mission statement to include the direction to “use regulated hunting, fishing and trapping as the basis for the management of these resources whenever feasible.” That was a significant victory for hunting, trappers, and anglers.
Tim questioned “How would this bill, and the resulting constitutional rights affect existing hunting laws, landowner’s rights, or the Department of Health and Human Services ability to enforce child support obligations by suspending licenses? The precise answer to these and many more unanticipated questions likely will not be supplied until these issues are tested in court. In the face of the unknown, I hope the Committee and the Legislature as a whole proceeds with caution.”
He summed up his testimony with this statement: “We urge careful consideration of the possible impacts of the current privilege enjoyed by all law abiding sportsmen and women. There is a distinct difference between a privilege and a right,” he said.
Supporters
Supporters of LD 11 including the Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine, National Rifle Association, and Maine Professional Guides Association.
Rep. Steve Wood, a member of the IFW Committee, sponsored and spoke for the bill, testifying “I’ve proposed this bill as an attempt to join 21 other states around the country which guarantee the right to hunt and fish in their constitutions; most recently Kansas and Indiana.” Steve distributed a fact sheet about state constitutional amendments and the right to hunt and fish.
Dave Trahan emphasized that LD 11 is a SAM bill, not an NRA bill as some opponents charged. He took the committee through a bit of history of wildlife management in this country, noting that “conservationists and sportsmen of conscience” supported the Pitman-Robertson Act which established an excise tax on outdoor gear, a tax that has directed $3 billion to wildlife management agencies including Maine’s Inland Fisheries and Wildlife Department.
“Hunting, trapping and fishing regulations have existed for less than half the life of this country,” testified Dave. “They were not put in place by the courts or a constitutional ruling and certainly not established to give governments the sovereignty over wild creatures; to the contrary, sportsmen and conservationists willfully placed these limits on wildlife consumption because they recognized the value in our natural world and wanted to insure that they would be around for future generations.
“This Constitutional Proposition is before you because animal rights organizations are trying to change that narrative and history… They believe hunting and fishing are cruel and inhumane, but readily accept the slow, vicious and terrifying death of wild animals through starvation, disease or to be torn apart by wild predators.” Said Dave.
Rep. Karl Ward testified for the bill, reporting that, “As of today, twenty two states now guarantee the People’s Right to Hunt and Fish in their State Constitutions. Vermont enacted this in 1777. The other seventeen – Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming have passed amendment to their Constitutions since 1996. Indiana and Kansas passed this amendment last year. Texas and Nevada the year before.”
What’s Next?
It will take a 2/3 vote in both the House and Senate to place this Constitutional amendment on the ballot, and the people will make the deciding decision.
I am concerned about the amount of money that will need to be raised to win this ballot fight, but there’s a long way to go before we have to be concerned about that.
“She also insisted that “hunting and trapping and fishing are not fundamental rights.””
Definitely true on the King’s Land.
The state. That’s why they can fine or jail you for improper taking.
Why did God use the plural?
I find it disturbing that it is described as a “privelage”. The state of Virginia describes driving in the same way, that is why they can deprive you of that “privelage” without due process. Pennsylvania, on the other hand is a right to drive state.
Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Thank-you for posting.
I live in Maine, and this is the first I’ve heard of this.
Hunting and fishing is a way of life in this outdoors-oriented state, and has been for centuries.
Most of Maine is strong Second Amendment country, too.
Maine apportions it’s electoral college votes, and 80% of Maine.....the 2nd congressional district.....went for Trump in November.
The translators used the plural. If you are Jewish or Some other religion, you might prefer a slightly different translation.
It would appear from the opposition, and the fact that an amendment was proposed, that there are those who would disagree. What is a centuries old way of life anyway. Nothing to be preserved. To some
I am up to my eyes even with my freezer full of venison.
Don't want to argue translations, but from a Jewish perspective We will make man was a discussion with Angels. Per Rashi's commentary on the Talmud, the decision was that if there were those in heaven in G-d's image,not having them on earth might inspire jealousy. Nothing to do with "ownership" of animals, which are here for the benefit of man.
In Hebrew, one of the words used for God, Elohim, is also plural.
The Son didn’t arrive for another couple of thousand years.
Just saying.
L
Who owns the animals?
The state?
Land owners?
All citizens?
Nobody?
In Europe, the landowners.
In the U.S., the state (except for high fence game farms).
When the hunter bags the game (reduces it to possession) it become his property, in the United States.
OMG! Don’t you DARE kill ANY living creature...unless it is an unborn child in the womb!
If that’s the case, then kill it all costs! And Taxpayer, State and Federal funding had BETTER be available for me to do so!
Because, like, That Constitution Thingy and All...
*SPIT*
I HATE, HATE, HATE the days we are living in! WTF is WRONG with people? Aarrgghh!!
“If you have shelter, food and heat, (ability to cook), then you can if you want to exist and possibly thrive away from the bureaucrats.”
Preach it, Brother!
“I remind my passionate young environmentalist friends that ‘conservation’ was in place quite a few decades before they were born.”
Give them a Rationing Coupon Book and see how long they’d survive in the wild, LOL!
Make them plant a Victory Garden!
Sorry! You can have exactly TWO MINUTES of Bandwidth on every other Tuesday. Use it constructively and with the REST of the world in mind as you do so. Bear in mind that YOU ARE USING COAL to fire the ELECTRICITY that runs your super-duper AWESOME phone with all the bells and whistles!
And that DAILY trip to Starbucks? Forgetabboudit!
*SNORT*
The Son didn’t arrive for another couple of thousand years.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Son (Jesus) has always existed.
Before the earth was formed.
He came to earth incarnate, a couple of thousand years ago.
So, they want to ban conservation easements?
Typical of irresponsible animal
right activists who never managed land and wildlife nor gave away their peoperties to nature to come moralize those who carry the burden of responsibility.
Many hunters out there carry the Conservation Easement like
a cross to satisfy the strigent compliance
requirements in keeping those lands healthy and safe, but the evil heathens will always mock
and spit at those carrying crosses.
It is their ultimate goal to
demoralize.
I also have a genetic particularity making it impossible for
me to eat protein rich vegetarian foods like
legumes, so I MUST eat meat. But these nut cases insist that science is on their side, that meat is not natural for humans
There is a scene where Abraham meets a human form and recognizes the Lord and prosternate himself to the ground
Christ was always around. Abraham and other prophets attempted to carry the cross and did get persecuted every time, and ultimately Christ acknowledged their work 2000 years ago
I hate to fish. A bad day at work is better than a good day fishing!
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