Missouri Bill Will Help Sportsmen Combat Anti's!!!

[LifeNRA]

Missouri Bill Will Help Sportsmen Combat Anti's- (02/18)

Legislation in Missouri will severely hinder anti-hunters’ efforts to ban outdoor sports via the ballot box.

House Joint Resolution 8, introduced by Rep. Mike Dethrow, R-Alton, will require a two-thirds majority vote to pass initiative proposals dealing with the harvest of birds, fish, game, wildlife, and forestry. It will make anti-hunters’ efforts to ban hunting, fishing or trapping via the ballot box more difficult.

“Bringing wildlife issues - including hunting and trapping bans - before the voters has become a popular tactic employed by the anti’s,” said Rob Sexton, U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance vice president for government affairs. “They want to take the science out of wildlife management and allow the public, who can be swayed by emotional issue campaigns, to decide what is best for a state’s wildlife resources.”

Sending wildlife issues to the ballot ignores the Missouri Department of Conservation’s management authority and the science on which management is based. Current Missouri law requires that these initiatives receive only a majority vote for passage.

Aside from discounting the wildlife agency’s authority, ballot issues force sportsmen to raise and spend millions of dollars to protect sound conservation principles. These are monies that otherwise could be used to protect wildlife habitat and for other valuable projects.

Last year, the U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance played a key role in the defeat of anti-bear hunting initiatives in Maine and Alaska. Both states require a simple majority to pass a ballot issue forcing sportsmen to spend unprecedented amounts of money to get their message to voters. House Joint Resolution 8 would give sportsmen the upper hand if anti-hunting initiatives arise in Missouri.

HJR 8 is currently before the House Committee on Conservation and Natural Resources.

Take Action! Missouri sportsmen are urged to ask their representatives to support HJR 8. Explain that requiring a two-thirds vote on wildlife issues would protect scientific wildlife management. To contact your representative, call (573) 751-2357 or use the Legislative Action Center at www.ussportsmen.org.