| | | | | |  |  | | R. Michael DiLullo |
Taking Political Aimby R. Michael DiLullo
First bears, are waterfowl next?
There is a political conspiracy underway in this country to eliminate your Second Amendment rights and to abolish all hunting! Members of this conspiracy are well organized; having ties to a network of many unlikely political associations. The regular cast of characters, groups like the Brady Institute (formerly Handgun Control Incorporated), Americans for Gun Safety (AGS), and others are now aligned and are receiving money, training and political strength from extreme environmental and animal rights groups such as People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), Greenpeace USA and the Committee to Abolish Sport Hunting, along with militant feminists, anti-capitalists, gay rights activists and a cadre of zealots who are actively advancing their radically liberal ideas on America.
These unholy alliances all have a common ideology; they all hate the values of a free democratic society and are out to impose their beliefs on the rest of us by any means possible. They have money, they have political backing and most important; they are pooling their resources. And some of their legislative agendas are becoming laws that will impact on our rights! If you don’t believe it you had better wake up and smell the cloud of cordite hanging over Washington, D.C.!
For several years now, their insidious ideologies and agendas have been gaining acceptance among Hollywood’s “in crowd”, amongst Media elites and Washington insiders. The ideas are usually pushed upon us subtly; satirist themes in movies or sitcoms, comments made by network news anchors or part of the public school systems’ curriculum (or indoctrination). Others are meant to have “shock value,” but later they gain acceptance and become commonplace; cursing and vulgarity is now common on prime-time network programming, in video games and the music industry. Nudity and sex are now required scenes in most feature films. Graphic sexual content is no longer reserved to cable or satellite television; it is also showing up in prime-time programming. And homosexual themes (i.e. Will & Grace, Six feet Under, Oz, Queer as Folk as well as others) are a growing genre on network, cable/satellite and paid programming. The simple psychology of this is that children and young people exposed to these ideals on a regular basis will accept these actions, beliefs and lifestyle choices as “normal” and they will eventually gain acceptance.
Messages such as “guns are evil”, “hunting is bad” and “don’t eat meat” are all common themes of popular television shows and cartoons. Several cable networks actually have programs starring children who play animal rights activists and go around rescuing and saving animals from research labs, zoos and circuses. These romanticized shows are all aimed specifically at the younger viewers and promote an anti-hunting/pro-animal rights agenda.
Their ideology has attacked the fur industry, basically eliminating trapping and the fur trade. They are actively suing firearms manufacturers in an attempt to circumvent the legislative process in an undertaking to bankrupt gun makers. They are also attempting to use the liberal courts to create laws aimed at eliminating hunting; Wisconsin’s 2001 dove season is a prime example. Anti-hunting and animal rights groups together with Wisconsin Citizens Concerned for Cranes and Doves (WCCCD), brought an injunction against the state’s long awaited, first ever Mourning Dove season last September. Their argument stated that the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) had no legal authority to institute a season and questioned the DNR’s research and population statistics. They persuaded a judge to go along with their argument and were successful at stopping the 2001 season. However, a recent higher court has overturned the injunction citing that the WCCCD had no legal standing to challenge the Wisconsin DNR. A 2002 season is now being planned.
These groups are also spreading their extreme environmental false views in an effort to eliminate all future exploration of natural resources in this country (Remember drilling for oil in Alaska’s Artic National Wildlife Refuge?). Other falsehoods being disseminated are aimed at ending all trapping, banning all forms of sport hunting and the anti’s primary objective, the elimination of all private ownership of firearms. As an example to the latter, anti-gun groups like AGS, which in reality have no members or any gun safety programs, continue to promote their agenda to eliminate gun shows. They perpetuate a strategy of lies, deception, and the exploitations of tragedies such as Columbine and the attacks of September 11th to promote their anti-Second Amendment policies.
|  | David Krassler, of Citari Kennels, with a nice 300 pound spring Black Bear in New Brunswick, Canada.
Photo by: Author |
Fettered into these deceptions and collaborating to win public favor, liberal law makers propose more laws that only create bureaucracies and impose restrictive government regulations on law abiding citizens, who only want to exercise their rights. Instead of enforcing existing laws and punishing offenders with the maximum sentencing, these legislators create new, more restrictive laws in a “feel good” approach aimed at settling people’s fears. Fears that have been exploited by their own political parties and special interest groups aimed at eliminating individual rights. As a recent example, Senators’ McCain, Schumer and Lieberman have introduced Senate Bill (S.B. 890), which seeks to close down all gun-shows, once again exploiting the events of 9/11 to making allegations that gun shows are a “marketplace” for terrorist to obtain weapons. Liberal politicians and the media have labeled it “the gun show loophole”. Where, in reality, gun shows are not exempt from any of the 30,000 existing firearms laws already on the books and there are no “loopholes”!
Federal, State and local laws apply to all selling and buying of firearms, regardless of where they are purchased! Most firearms owners know there is no such thing as a “gun show loophole”, but the general public, having been continuously feed lies and half-truths concerning firearms ownership, readily believes these stories that somehow the laws do not apply to at gun shows. The majority of gun dealers at gun shows are licensed Federal Firearms Dealers (FFL); a few others are private individuals selling their own individual firearms or their collections. Licensed firearms dealers must do a background check prior to completing any sale. Sales of long guns and shotguns, in most states, can now be accomplished via a phone call and two forms of photo identification; some states do require a previously obtained Firearms Identification card (FID). Handgun sales requirements in some states can be the same as for long guns, while others may also require a pistol permit signed by your local law enforcement agency, an F.I.D. card and a waiting period. By the way most of these permits and I.D. cards carry processing fees, which can range from $5-100! And most states requiring permits for handguns require a permit for each handgun purchased, some states also limit the number of handguns an individual may purchase in a certain given period of time! The truth is, the procedures for purchasing a firearm at a gun show are exactly the same as if you were buying at your local gun store.
Where legal, some private sales do take place at gun shows, however, they are still required to follow the laws concerning such sales; weather they take place at a gun show or private home. In some states permits may still be required to purchase handguns through private sales and all laws prohibiting the possession or purchasing of firearms by convicted felons and other banned individuals still apply. The truth of the matter is that their main objective is to eliminate the private sale or transfer of firearms. Their goal is to eliminate these practices and have all private sales and transfers go through an FFL dealer and have a FBI background preformed, basically building a firearms registration database. This legislation may sound quite innocuous and may make sense to you or you may believe it will not affect you. However, want to pass on your gun collection to family members or give your son or daughter a firearm for their birthday…this legislation will cost you time, more money and the possibility of your firearms being confiscated!
On the hunting front, the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) recently released a report claiming that seven to nine million ducks and geese are lost annually due to hunters crippling the birds and being unable to recover them. The report commissioned by HSUS was written by a Canadian, Dr. Robert Alison, and goes on to state that the birds suffer an “excruciating and prolonged agony” after being struck by hunters’ shotgun pellets resulting in a “miserable death”.
According to the paper some 50 to 150 ducks and geese are wounded for every 100 bagged! HSUS spokesperson Bette Stallman claimed that the purpose of the report was to increase awareness of the high rate of wounding. She said that the HSUS would use loopholes in existing laws based on the extraordinary degree of animal suffering and conservation of species. Stallman went on to say that the HSUS would use administrative and public pressure as well as legal options to overturn these laws and change current regulations in an effort to benefit wildlife.
HSUS inspiration is obviously based on the recent events in Australia, where voters ratified legislation banning the shooting of ducks based on reports that the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals presented claiming high crippling rates. Stallman said that HSUS is not ruling out the possibility of taking their message directly to the voters, hinting at public ballot initiative. Some experts believe that the first such North American test will occur in Canada, where a majority of voters reside in urban population centers and hunter numbers, particularly waterfowlers, continue to shrink.
Hunting in Canada has become particularly vulnerable. Of particular concern is a current bill that is making its way through Canada’s federal parliament. The new law, if passed, would punish acts of animal cruelty with criminal prosecution and there are no clear exceptions for hunting or agriculture. Experts believe that there is no coincidence in the timing of HSUS report and believe that it is a part of a strategic plan aimed at eliminating hunting in the United States and that these strategies are being fielded and legally, as well as publicly, tested abroad before being brought here. Many point to Ontario’s 1999 ban on spring black bear hunting as an example of what animal-rights groups can do in Canada and the same tactics are being incorporated into similar fights in the U.S.
On January 15, 1999, known as “Black Friday” by many Canadian sportsmen and outfitters alike, the Ontario government terminated spring bear hunting in the province. The closure was based on misinformation spread by animal-rights groups and anti-hunting organizations about sows with cubs being killed and the plight of the orphaned cubs. These falsehoods were exploited by liberal politicians and caused the elimination of the spring hunts.
Provincial Biologists estimate Ontario’s black bear population to be healthy and in upwards of 100,000 animals. The annual harvest from hunting accounts for less than 10 percent of the total and has little effect on the overall population. But, according to the politicians, some 300 cubs are orphaned annually and many more are killed by hunters. However, these statistics could not be documented and even the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources Enforcement Section cited only one case in 1995 of a hunter being convicted for shooting a sow with cubs. Even though the scientific data, Provincial game enforcement reports and harvest information did not support the argument being made, the antis and politicians were successful in shutting down the season.
According to the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters (OFAH), more than $40 million annual revenue from spring bear hunters is now lost, much of this money being spent in rural communities with little other income sources. The OFAH is appealing the decision to eliminate spring black bear hunting in court and is also sponsoring efforts to protect hunting as a constitutional right. The Northern Ontario Tourist Outfitter’s Association was also taking the issue into court, but has withdrawn its challenge when they learned they would lose their annual grant if the group perused the matter. The Ontario Black Bear Association has also filled suite seeking government compensation based on loss of earnings for their members (mainly guides and outfitters) due to the cancellation of the spring hunts.
The elimination of spring black bear hunting in Ontario resulted from lies being perpetuated on a population, which mainly resides in large cities and towns. Most don’t hunt or are not employed in the outdoors industries or tourism. As an example, less than 6 percent of the 11 million residents of Ontario hunt and many of them are apathetic about protecting their rights as hunters and firearms owners.
In June of 2000, the New Jersey’s Fish and Game Council (FGC), based on sound management advice from the New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife (DFW) and some 1,600 nuisance bear complaints ranging from persistent garbage-can raids to home invasion and several incidents of pet and livestock kills, proposed a limited black bear season. The FGC issued some 5,000 special bear tags, planning to end the hunt once the goal number had been reached. Their intended goal of 175 animals had previously been lowered from 300 based on pressure from animal-rights activists. Just prior to the hunt, the first for bear in the garden state in some 30 years, an anti-hunting coalition, including the New Jersey Animal Rights Alliance (ARA) along with HSUS, the Sierra Club and private citizens filed suit challenging DFW’s and FGC’s authority to manage the state’s wildlife. The suit also alleged that the proposed season was not based on any biological or scientific research and that the regulations for the proposed season had not followed proper rule-making procedure (Sound familiar?)!
Then Governor, Christie Whitman, bowing to the antis’ pressure, strongly urged the FGC to rescind the hunt. The Council agreed, canceling the six-day hunt just before it began. Whitman proposed new strategies for dealing with problem bears and money for public education, however, nothing in her proposal addressed the real issue; dealing with the growing black bear population in northwestern New Jersey. This has led some Council members to reconsider their original opinions and some now believe that the only proper management tool to control the state’s burgeoning bruin population is…Sport Hunting!
Currently, the NJ State Assembly is considering AB No. 479, which would appropriate nearly $100,000 to the NJ Department of Environmental Protection to develop programs to reduce the state’s bear population. But, according to the bill, the programs must be developed in conjunction with HSUS and will not include hunting! The bill also bans Garden State bear hunting for five years, unless otherwise authorized by the state’s Governor or legislature.
What is really appalling is the fact that politicians are ignoring the facts and their own wildlife managers to play to misinformed public sentiments. The government is willing to turn taxpayer money over to groups whose sole purpose is to eliminate hunting should not sit well with anyone who believes in a fair democratic process. Many observers feel that this bill could set a very dangerous legal precedent in future hunting issues.
The antis’ new strategy seems to file legal suits questioning the state’s Fish and Game Agencies authority, attacking sound biological and management practices and thereby, eliminating any scientific evidence, allowing the uninformed public and Courts to rule purely on emotion and not the facts!
The current strategies and legislative attempts being employed by the antis will affect us as hunters, firearms and gundog owners and there are many more on the horizon! With each of these bills that becomes law, our freedoms are slowly being eroded. If you believe your rights are worth preserving and that future generations of hunters and firearm owners are entitled to these same rights, then please get involved and make your opinions known!
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