Charlotte, NC –-(Ammoland.com)- Yesterday, the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) and other radical anti-hunting groups suffered defeat when Senate Bill 1221 failed to pass in the state Assembly Committee on Water, Parks, and Wildlife.
Unfortunately, this bill was authorized for reconsideration by this same committee as early as next Tuesday, July 3. Members of the state Assembly Committee on Water, Parks, and Wildlife need to hear from every sportsman and gun owner in California urging them to OPPOSE SB 1221. Let committee members know that California cannot afford to let the political agenda of animal rights extremists decide hunting regulations in the state. Hunting in ALL forms is an important tool needed to generate revenue for state conservation projects and to manage wildlife. It is also a long-standing American heritage that must be preserved. Contact information for committee members can be found here.
SB 1221, introduced by state Senator Ted Lieu (D-28), would ban hunting bears and bobcats with dogs. Hunting with dogs is a tradition that continues to be practiced across the country. Many dog breeds with select characteristics for hunting can be traced back for thousands of years. Seventeen states allow bear hunting with dogs. The use of hounds for hunting has never been shown to have an adverse impact on wildlife numbers. Biologists and other wildlife experts determine regulations and bag limits, just as they do with other hunting seasons.
SB 1221 is a bill sponsored by HSUS – a group that supports banning all hunting with or without dogs. Its President, Wayne Pacelle, has been quoted as saying: “We are going to use the ballot box and the democratic process to stop all hunting in the United States … We will take it species by species until all hunting is stopped in California. Then we will take it state by state.” In 2003, HSUS unsuccessfully championed California Assembly Bill 342 that would have banned all hunting with hounds. It now seems to be taking a deceptive and incremental approach to accomplish the same goal with SB 1221. We cannot let an organization whose sole purpose is to destroy America’s hunting heritage succeed.
Please forward this alert to your family, friends, and fellow sportsmen across California asking them to also CALL and E-MAIL members of the state Assembly Committee on Water, Parks, and Wildlife and urge them to OPPOSE SB 1221. HSUS is attempting to ban this particular form of hunting today but it will be back for many other forms of hunting in the future.
About NRA-ILA
Established in 1975, the Institute for Legislative Action (ILA) is the “lobbying” arm of the National Rifle Association of America. ILA is responsible for preserving the right of all law-abiding individuals in the legislative, political, and legal arenas, to purchase, possess and use firearms for legitimate purposes as guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Visit: www.nra.org
