Legislation, HB 4610, would establish a “right to ride horses on state-owned land.” It is expected to be voted out of committee this Tuesday, May 5.

This legislation would force MI DNR to allow horseback riding on any state-owned lands where horseback riding has historically been allowed, regardless of the impact such riding has on habitat, wildlife populations and hunting. If this legislation passes, the right to ride horses would trump your right to hunt. This despite the fact that much of the public land affected was purchased with your hunting dollars (through license fees and federal excise taxes).

The National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) — the trade association for the firearms, ammunition, hunting and shooting sports industry — is encouraging all sportsmen and hunters to contact the Tourism, Outdoor Recreation and Natural Resources Committee and urge them to oppose this anti-hunting bill.

Contact for committee members is below:

Joel Sheltrown (D), Committee Chair, 103rd District
Jim Slezak (D), Majority Vice-Chair, 50th District
Kate Ebli (D), 56th District
Mike Huckleberry (D), 70th District
Steven Lindberg (D), 109th District
Mike Simpson (D), 65th District
Woodrow Stanley (D), 34th District
Jim Stamas (R), Minority Vice-Chair, 98th District
James Bolger (R), 63rd District
Goeff Hansen (R), 100th District
Kenneth B. Horn (R), 94th District

HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION T

April 23, 2009, Introduced by Reps. Hildenbrand, Elsenheimer, Schuitmaker, Mayes, Hansen, Booher, Crawford, Moore, Stamas, Daley, Calley, Kurtz, Agema and Sheltrown and referred to the Committee on Tourism, Outdoor Recreation and Natural Resources.

A joint resolution proposing an amendment to the state constitution of 1963, by adding section 27 to article I, to recognize a right to hunt, trap, or fish for, and to harvest, game or fish.

Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the state of Michigan, That the following amendment to the state constitution of 1963, to recognize a right to hunt, trap, or fish for, and to harvest, game or fish, is proposed, agreed to, and submitted to the people of the state:

ARTICLE I

Sec. 27. Subject to conditions established by law and based on principles of scientific management of natural resources, the people have the right to hunt, trap, or fish for, and to harvest, game or fish that are the property of the state and are held in the public trust.

Resolved further, That the foregoing amendment shall be submitted to the people of the state at the next general election in the manner provided by law.

By Glen Wunderlich
Member Professional Outdoor Media Association

This year’s turkey hunt opener was precipitated by a trip to Meal and More in Morrice, which now houses its own thriving firearms business, where the accommodating staff offers fail deals – buy, sell, or trade. My friend, Joe Reynolds, “coerced” me into a gun-shopping escapade few weeks ago. (You may remember Joe’s New Year’s deer harvested with the aid of his bullish Lab mix, Cocoa.) Why, I’m still not sure, but he came away with a 1954 High Standard bolt action 12 gauge manufactured for Sears under the Ted Williams name. It sported a patented Multy-Choke and a bad case of acne along the bore near the breach. But, for $55, who’s complaining?

Twisting the choke to full, it did a fair job of punching holes in our makeshift turkey head and neck target with 1 5/8 ounces of 6 shot in a Winchester 2 ¾-inch shell. With only a bead front sight, there was no means to adjust the slightly off center pattern, so Joe would have to compensate on his own for a chance at his first-ever wild turkey.

Our roomy portable blind was set up along the edge of known turkey strutting grounds, where several adult gobblers had been observed during the past week. At 7 am, I sounded the opening day salvo of hen calls with my 30-year old box call and almost immediately, three hens came from the woods into the spring clover and alfalfa field. Our lone hen decoy was 22 yards in front of us and I was hoping to motivate the ladies into an early-morning chat. No such luck. They seemed to be on a mission away from us, never offering to be neighborly.

Although we were really hoping for some female company, what we were really after was a guest appearance by a proud, male suitor. Within minutes, three beard-sporting fellas followed in the footsteps of the females. I knew it would be a good trick getting these guys away from their dates, but I had to try. Although they stopped and looked toward us, they also could not see the decoy from their position and eventually thought it best to stick with their initial plan – whatever that was.

We never lost sight of them, but everything I threw at them seemed to fall on deaf ears. Approximately an hour later, a lone hen meandered toward our deceptive female partner for a little company. At long last, we now had a live decoy, so I kept up the chatter to keep her interest. It worked.

About a half hour later, the entire clan began an about face, although still several hundred yards from us. When a couple more hens joined the conference directly in front of us, the guys kept their distance well out of range. I had them gobbling their fool heads off but they continued to maintain their uphill advantage at 100 yards.

But, a little sweet talk from the confines of the hideout stirred enough desire within one of the gobblers for him to break away from the bachelor group. Sure enough, he couldn’t hold back any more and I clammed up as he marched directly toward our decoy. He came within a few feet of the deceiver, never having a clue as to her plastic nature or the fatal mistake lying ahead.

Joe laid it on the two-year old bird and it went down in a heap. He weighed 17.85 pounds – not the bully of the gang, but plenty good for one happy hunter.

BELLEVUE, WA – The Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms today criticized Milwaukee, WI Police Chief Ed Flynn for his open defiance of the State Attorney General’s office in a controversy over open carry of firearms.

Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen has stated that it is legal in Wisconsin for citizens to carry guns openly in a peaceful manner. However, Chief Flynn is ordering his officers to “take down” citizens, “put them on t he ground” and disarm them, and “then decide whether you have a right to carry it.”

The situation should alarm all Wisconsin citizens, whether they own guns or not, said CCRKBA Legislative Director Joe Waldron, because it places police officers and private citizens in a deliberately confrontational position. Also, he added, Flynn’s approach raises serious constitutional questions because of the state’s clearly defined “right to keep and bear arms for security, defense, hunting, recreation or any other lawful purpose” under Article I, Section 25 of the state constitution.

“Because Wisconsin does not allow concealed carry,” Waldron said, “the only way for citizens to exercise their constitutional right to keep and bear arms is to carry handguns openly. Chief Flynn should not assume he or his officers have the authority to decide who can and cannot exercise that right. His attitude is outrageous.

“Attorney General Van Hollen was correct in his statements about the legality of open carry,” Waldron continued, “and what does it say about a police chief when he publicly announces that he’ll do things his way and to hell with what the attorney general says?”

Waldron also said a plan, announced by State Rep. Leon Young, a Milwaukee Democrat, to draft legislation that bans open carry, “is inviting court challenge.”

“If you cannot carry openly, and you cannot carry concealed,” Waldron wondered, “how can law-abiding Wisconsin citizens exercise their state constitutional right to keep and bear arms? We encourage Rep. Young to address that issue to the state Supreme Court before he pushes ahead with that scheme.”

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) – Crews have held pirates off with Molotov cocktails, crates of rubbish and oil drums. They’ve electrified handrails, sprayed attackers with high-pressure fire hoses and simply kicked the pirates’ rickety ladders overboard.

But owners of ships plying the pirate-infested waters off Somalia’s coast have balked at having firearms onboard…(click on the title for the rest of the story.)

On three occasions in the past two weeks, Phil, a groundhog famous for his annual Groundhog Day appearance in February, has escaped his man-made home at the Punxsutawney Library, according to an Associated Press report.

Former Navy Seal, Marcus Luttrell, investigated a gun shot near his home and found that his young yellow lab had been shot to death. The Author of Lone Survivor then chased a carload of men at high speed…(more)

Click on the title for the pitiful story.

Most states issue permits to carry a concealed handgun for lawful protection to an applicant who is over 21 years of age, and who passes a fingerprint-based background check and a safety class. These permits allow the person to carry a concealed defensive handgun almost everywhere in the state. Should professors, school teachers, or adult college and graduate students who have such permits be allowed to carry firearms on campus?

Click on the title for David Kopel’s research on the subject.

For anything turkey, click on the title for Realtree’s comprehensive site.

With little support in Congress, some Democrats are still pushing to shove the Second Amendment aside.

BELLEVUE, WA – Democrat House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on April 7 acknowledged that gun registration is on her agenda, days after Attorney General Eric Holder told reporters in Mexico that the Second Amendment would not “stand in the way” of administration plans to crack down on alleged gun trafficking to Mexico.

“These are alarming remarks from Speaker Pelosi and Attorney General Holder,” said Second Amendment Foundation founder Alan Gottlieb. “It appears that the Obama administration and Capitol Hill anti-gunners have dropped all pretences about their plans for gun owners’ rights, and it looks like the gloves are coming off.”

Pelosi’s revelation came during an interview on ABC’s Good Morning, America. While insisting that Congress “never denied” the gun rights of American Citizens, Pelosi told Roberts, “We want them registered. We don’t want them crossing state lines…” Gottlieb noted that citizens’ rights do not stop at state lines.

“But that doesn’t really matter,” he observed. “History has shown that around the world, registration has always led to confiscation.”

In Mexico, according to the Wall Street Journal, Holder was asked if the administration might encounter constitutional issues as it tries to crack down on alleged gun trafficking. His response: “I don’t think our Second Amendment will stand in the way of efforts we have begun and will expand upon.”

“These comments belie administration promises and Democrat rhetoric that party leaders respect the rights of law-abiding Americans to own the firearm of their choice,” Gottlieb said. “They imposed registration of semi-autos in Pelosi’s California and it led to a ban, but it certainly didn’t disarm criminals, like the convicted felon who killed four Oakland police officers last month. We know from Holder that the Obama administration wants to renew the nationwide ban on such firearms, but that won’t prevent crime, either.

“The administration and Congressional anti-gunners have declared war on gun rights,” Gottlieb said. “The press seems deliberately blind to the statements from Pelosi and Holder, who blame our gun rights for their incompetence in dealing with crime. More than 90 million gun owners haven’t hurt anybody, and they are tired of being treated like criminals.”