Do We Really Need this? Maybe so

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There is an old adage that says if you drop a frog into boiling water it will

immediately jump out, but if you put that same frog into a pot of cool water then

slowly raise the water temperature to boiling, the frog will likely be boiled. The

gist of the proverb is that we will instantly react to sudden changes around us, but

if those changes come slowly and subtly, it may be too late to properly react once

we notice.

House Concurrent Resolution 5008 just now starting its journey through the

Kansas legislature would amend the state constitution to guarantee Kansas

residents the right to hunt, fish and trap wildlife here in our state. My first

reaction was “Do we really need this?” Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want to

become like the frog in the pot and eventually lose my hunting, fishing and

trapping rights after years of slow and subtle attacks on those rights by the likes

of PETA and the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS.) But this is Kansas

after all, and I really don’t worry much about us Kansans being out-muscled nor

out-witted by that sort of thinking. I also know that federal law still trumps state

law, so we can pass all the laws and resolutions we want here in KS, but if

something contrary gets passed at the federal level, it’s all for naught. I could only

hope that the bills coauthors Adam Lusker from Fontenac and Travis Couture-

Lovelady from Palco had some reasoning in mind that I was missing.

I spoke with Rep. Lusker on the phone and here are some points they hope to

make with this proposed constitutional amendment. First, they want its passage

to show groups like PETA and HSUS just how seriously we Kansans value our right

to hunt, fish and trap,  making them think twice about trying to force their

agendas here in Kansas; sort of  the ounce-of-prevention-is-worth-a-pound-of-

cure principle.

Secondly they want to show Kansas sportsmen and women that our state leaders

take our hunting, fishing and trapping rights seriously enough to do whatever

they have to do to protect them. Also by doing this they want sportsmen across

the country to take notice that Kansas also wants their business as well.

If ratified by two-thirds of the house and two-thirds of the senate, House

Concurrent Resolution 5008 will appear on the ballet in the next regular election

year, 2016. If passed by the voters in Kansas, that should add even more teeth to

its intent. I’m still not sure we need an amendment to our state constitution to

guarantee our right to hunt, fish and trap here in the state of Kansas, but things

take awhile to grow on me. I have to say that the points presented to me by Rep.

Lusker were very valid and thought-provoking. In the mean time, let’s all exercise

those rights to the fullest and Explore Kansas Outdoors.

Steve can be contacted by email at [email protected]

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