Included amongst this year's ballot
proposals for amending the Wyoming Constitution (there are three such
proposals) is a proposal to amend the constitution to provide for the
protection of the right to hunt, fish and trap.
That such an amendment would even be regarded as necessary would have been a shock a couple of decades ago, and perhaps it really isn't needed now. Participation in hunting is increasing in the United States, reversing a trend of some years, and in Wyoming hunting participation is dramatically up, grossly countering a trend of some years. Nobody knows the reasons for this, but it appears that hunting is now increasing remarkably in popularity and participation. And even on television, where we have not seen a great deal of hunting for quite some time, the reverse is now becoming true. A couple of adventure type channels have been running hunting related series, with the most recent being Yukon Men. And these shows have become pretty unapologetic about depicting what amounts to subsistence type hunting, which is the type that most American hunters actually do.
Nonetheless, in this day and age when many people live in urban settings that are so distant from nature that they have not connection with it, and often don't understand it, it serves to have an amendment that reminds us of the most basic nature of things, which we are never very far removed from in spite of what me might think. Hunters and fishermen truly engage in an activity that's so deeply connected with nature and who and what we are as humans that this shouldn't be necessary, but this "modern" age has allowed many to become deluded, debased and indeed depressed, by their lack of connection with nature in this most fundamental of senses. Therefore, this amendment serves a vital purpose now, even if some feel it is presently unneeded. And, of course, by the time a right is under attack to such an extent that it needs protection, it's difficult to provide it, which is another reason to support this amendment.
Some have also suggested that this interferes with wildlife management in a way that's not helpful, but that concern seems misplaced. Nothing in this amendment requires the Game and Fish Department to do any one thing, even if it can be argued that it does provide a mandate as to how the natural resource would be looked at in part. I'm confident that the interference, to the extent it exists, will be easy to overcome and perhaps it only really exists if its somehow perceived to.
Therefore, like Amendment C below, I feel this is a good proposal and should become law.
Wyoming Constitutional Amendment Proposed Amendment B:
That such an amendment would even be regarded as necessary would have been a shock a couple of decades ago, and perhaps it really isn't needed now. Participation in hunting is increasing in the United States, reversing a trend of some years, and in Wyoming hunting participation is dramatically up, grossly countering a trend of some years. Nobody knows the reasons for this, but it appears that hunting is now increasing remarkably in popularity and participation. And even on television, where we have not seen a great deal of hunting for quite some time, the reverse is now becoming true. A couple of adventure type channels have been running hunting related series, with the most recent being Yukon Men. And these shows have become pretty unapologetic about depicting what amounts to subsistence type hunting, which is the type that most American hunters actually do.
Nonetheless, in this day and age when many people live in urban settings that are so distant from nature that they have not connection with it, and often don't understand it, it serves to have an amendment that reminds us of the most basic nature of things, which we are never very far removed from in spite of what me might think. Hunters and fishermen truly engage in an activity that's so deeply connected with nature and who and what we are as humans that this shouldn't be necessary, but this "modern" age has allowed many to become deluded, debased and indeed depressed, by their lack of connection with nature in this most fundamental of senses. Therefore, this amendment serves a vital purpose now, even if some feel it is presently unneeded. And, of course, by the time a right is under attack to such an extent that it needs protection, it's difficult to provide it, which is another reason to support this amendment.
Some have also suggested that this interferes with wildlife management in a way that's not helpful, but that concern seems misplaced. Nothing in this amendment requires the Game and Fish Department to do any one thing, even if it can be argued that it does provide a mandate as to how the natural resource would be looked at in part. I'm confident that the interference, to the extent it exists, will be easy to overcome and perhaps it only really exists if its somehow perceived to.
Therefore, like Amendment C below, I feel this is a good proposal and should become law.
Wyoming Constitutional Amendment Proposed Amendment B:
Opportunity to hunt, fish and trap
.Article 1. Section 38. Opportunity to hunt, fish and trap. The opportunity to fish, hunt and trap wildlife is a heritage that shall forever be preserved to the individual citizens of the state, subject to regulation as prescribed by law, and does not create a right to trespass on private property, diminish other private rights or alter the duty of the state to manage wildlife.
No comments:
Post a Comment