Washington, DC – -(Ammoland.com)- We are pleased to announce that the NRA-backed Right to Hunt and Fish Constitutional Amendment, sponsored by state Senator Brent Steele (R-44) and state Representative Sean Eberhart (R-57), will appear as Question 1 on the November 2016 ballot.
This week, Governor Mike Pence (R) signed Senate Bill 57 approving the ballot language. Furthermore, Governor Pence also signed House Bill 1231 into law, which will expand deer hunting opportunities across Indiana. HB 1231 will take effect immediately.
Question 1 proposes an amendment to the Indiana Constitution that establishes the individual right to hunt, fish, and harvest wildlife in the Hoosier State. The Right to Hunt and Fish ensures that wildlife conservation and management decisions continue to be based on sound science in order to preserve Indiana’s hunting heritage for generations to come and to protect it against future attacks from well-funded, anti-hunting organizations.
On the November ballot, Indiana voters will be asked:
“Shall the Constitution of the State of Indiana be amended by adding a Section 39 to Article 1 to provide that the right to hunt, fish, and harvest wildlife shall be forever preserved for the public good, subject only to the laws prescribed by the General Assembly and rules prescribed by virtue of the authority of the General Assembly to:
- (1) promote wildlife conservation and management; and
- (2) preserve the future of hunting and fishing?”
Hunting, fishing, and harvesting wildlife are not only cherished American traditions, but paired with science, are an integral part of wildlife management and conservation. This year alone, Indiana received $11,993,245 of Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Funds thanks to excise taxes paid by Indiana sportsmen and women on firearms, ammunition and archery equipment. Pittman-Robertson funds fuel important conservation efforts such as the acquisition and improvement of wildlife habitat, wildlife species introduction, wildlife research, public access programs, and hunter education programs. Furthermore, sportsmen and women are an essential part of the Indiana economy. According to the latest data, they spend more than $923 million annually and support 14,058 jobs.
Misguided extremists have been trying for decades to incrementally or outright ban hunting, fishing and harvesting wildlife. Now is the time to safeguard your outdoor heritage.
HB 1231 passed the Indiana House of Representatives by a resounding 91-0 vote and the Senate by a 26-24 vote. As previously reported, HB 1231 greatly expands deer hunting opportunities in Indiana by directing the Indiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to establish a rifle season for deer hunting between June 30, 2016 and June 30, 2020. Under this new law, DNR may authorize four annual rifle seasons for deer hunting in order to assess the impact of these additional hunting seasons. The addition of a rifle season will make hunting more accessible and enhance hunter retention and recruitment efforts in the state.
Your NRA-ILA would like to thank the legislators who supported House Bill 1231, especially the primary bill author, state Representative Lloyd Arnold.
About:
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
Look,we’re all hunters, period. One is as good as the next and we all have plenty of common problems. Enjoy what you do and quit sticking your nose in the other guys busness,isn’t that what we complain the anti-hunters do? There is not anything you do from the time you get up that someone won,t condem, if you get to regulate others,why don’t they get to regulate you?
You Sir, are an idiot. I kill deer just fine with my bow. Just as proficiently as you do with your guns. It makes me a better hunter than you too. That is a fact. Just about any bumbling idiot cant stumble out into the woods with a high powered rifle and kill a deer that had no clue it was even being hunted. That takes no skill at all. You are what i refer to as a gun monkey. A lazy hunter. You strive to use bigger, more powerful weapons because you are too ignorant to want to gain… Read more »
Amen. Bow hunters understand what it is like to actually hunt animals not be in the path of a scared animal.
WOW, Sooo many people that don’t like this. This is the problem in this country, too many anti gun liberals who hunt with a bow, who want to destroy the 2nd amendment.. Or they have invested $1000’s into their high tech bow equipment and don’t want others trending on their large 10 point bucks. This is why We are losing our right to bear arms, because a lot of hunters are so discriminate and arbitrary of how THEY think others should do it. And are against other hunter. This is why the anti hunters and liberals win-, they stick together.… Read more »
Here is the problems I have. 1. They slapped the DNR in the face 2. The people that legalized the rifles have probably never been hunters and do not understand what they are doing. 3. I live on a farm I bought to hunt. Around me there are people who hunt the surrounding lands and now have the means to park rounds in every room of my home even my children’s without the intent to do so. 1 out of every 5 rounds ricochet. If you have fired tracers you know what I mean. 4. The people spoke recently and… Read more »
I agree that we need a clearer definition of .300 caliber and a list defining exactly which cartridges fall under that designation. Also, is .308 …308 win. (7.62mmX51mm) only , or will that also include the 7.62mmX39mm as well ? A definitive list of the allowed CARTRIDGES is needed and would help the layman be better informed. I also believe that any cartridge with the designation of magnum, on the cartridge should not be included as those would be far more ranging than is necessary.
I have a hard time with this bill, it does not include 45-70 cal., and 44-40 etc. And I read no where if the 300 cal. includes all 300 cal, or just 300 Winchester. They need to be clear on this. It looks like to me somebody did not do their home work.
my two cents and rambling thoughts from someone who lives in Indiana I hunt with a bow, in firearm season .. sometimes shotgun but sometimes muzzle loader The deer herds in west central are not hurting. True their numbers are down but that was from an extremely high number that was not sustainable. allowing rifles does nothing to change the amount of deer you can harvest in one season so there is no effect on the overall numbers of the herd. From my point of view.. this is a slap in the face to the DNR who have refused to… Read more »
Well said!
The deer herds are suffering, up to 5 years ago I could see 10 to 20 deer during the day, now i am lucky to see 1 or 2, I don’t mind hunters using a 3030 anything larger is just crazy, My 308 is accurate easily at 600
As a NRA member I am deeply disappointed that the NRA got involved in this. Indiana’s deer herd will suffer, we have had to endure ehd and the Indiana dnr’s obsession with lowering the deer numbers,now this. Thanks to the Indiana legislature and the NRA I told the land owner we lease from that this will be our last year. After 22 years deer hunting in Indiana I am done. Between crossbows and this I am starting to question my membership with the NRA.
You know the herd in Indiana is NOT suffering. Scout early and follow the herd. You people need to quit crying about it because you also have muzzleloaders that go 300+ yards that would do the same damage.