In order to participate in the GunBroker Member forums, you must be logged in with your GunBroker.com account. Click the sign-in button at the top right of the forums page to get connected.
Legislators push hunting-rights vote
Josey1
Member Posts: 9,598 ✭✭
Legislators push hunting-rights vote
Sportsmen's amendment could affect party influence
By David Paulsen
Wausau Daily Herald
dpaulsen@wdhprint.com
In politics, timing is crucial.
That's the underlying message embedded in a campaign by state Democrats to set an April vote on a hunting and fishing rights constitutional amendment.
The Democrats, who announced the plan Tuesday at Gander Mountain in Rothschild, say it is crucial that the amendment be ratified as soon as possible. Some Republicans, just as adamant about the law's importance, want to see a November 2003 referendum because they think the issue will drive Republican voters to the polls.
With such overwhelming support from both parties, the amendment is hardly a partisan issue, yet its timing might be a factor in determining party influence in the Legislature.
"Timing is terribly important," said Howard Schweber, an assistant political science professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Savvy lawmakers are aware of the role a referendum's timing can play in mobilizing their supporters to vote in an election.
This is typical in states like California that have relied on statutory referendums for many years, Schweber said.
In Wisconsin, assuming the majority of the residents who strongly support the hunting and fishing rights amendment tend to lean toward Republican candidates, it would be to the Republicans' advantage to hold the referendum on the issue in a November election when legislative seats are at stake, he said.
On the flip side, Schweber suggests that Democrats, often dogged by an anti-gun, anti-hunting image, would benefit by taking care of the amendment in April and criticizing those who disagree for delaying the issue.
"It simultaneously removes a damaging issue from the election and does so in a way that gives the Republicans very little purchase to complain," Schweber said. "Very clever, those Democrats."
Legislative Democrats' intention is to get the law passed as soon as possible, not to maneuver politically, Rep. Greg Huber, D-Wausau, said Tuesday at the press conference announcing the plan.
"The longer it's out there, the longer political strategists are telling why it's better to put it on this date rather than that date," Huber said. "Sometimes they can get too smart."
The amendment would guarantee the right to hunt, fish, trap and take game in the state while allowing for "reasonable restrictions."
Amendments to the state constitution must be ratified in two consecutive legislative sessions, signed by the governor and approved by voters in a referendum.
The Legislature passed the hunting and fishing amendment for the first time with near-unanimous support last May. It must do so again by Feb. 15 to send it to the voters in April.
"I think it's going to pass and pass overwhelmingly, whenever it's brought up," said Assembly Minority Leader Spencer Black, D-Madison. But he argued that with such widespread support, there is little justification for postponing the vote, and if it is delayed the bill might be lost in the shuffle.
Republicans continue to voice their support of the bill but are reluctant to make any moves that might be construed as backing off on it.
"I think it's very important that we get this done," said Rep. Jerry Petrowski, R-Stettin. "I certainly would push to get it done, and the sooner the better, as far as I'm concerned," he said, while not explicitly supporting an April referendum date.
Rep. Scott Suder, R-Abbotsford, also would like to see the law become part of the constitution as soon as possible. But he said a November 2004 referendum would give advocates time to mobilize against opposition.
"I don't want to rush this," Suder said. "I want this, certainly, in the Wisconsin Constitution, but this is very important and I'm not willing to take any risk to give the anti-hunting groups any wiggle room here."
Also, planning the referendum for a November election during a presidential race would ensure a large pool of voters voicing their opinion on and their support for the law, he said.
Both parties say they intend to bring the law to the floor again. But the timing and ease with which the bill progresses likely will depend on which party gains or retains seats in each house and how well the two parties work together in the coming session.
http://www.wausaudailyherald.com/wdhlocal/275883983537877.shtml
"If cowardly and dishonorable men sometimes shoot unarmed men with army pistols or guns, the evil must be prevented by the penitentiary and gallows, and not by a general deprivation of a constitutional privilege." - Arkansas Supreme Court, 1878
Sportsmen's amendment could affect party influence
By David Paulsen
Wausau Daily Herald
dpaulsen@wdhprint.com
In politics, timing is crucial.
That's the underlying message embedded in a campaign by state Democrats to set an April vote on a hunting and fishing rights constitutional amendment.
The Democrats, who announced the plan Tuesday at Gander Mountain in Rothschild, say it is crucial that the amendment be ratified as soon as possible. Some Republicans, just as adamant about the law's importance, want to see a November 2003 referendum because they think the issue will drive Republican voters to the polls.
With such overwhelming support from both parties, the amendment is hardly a partisan issue, yet its timing might be a factor in determining party influence in the Legislature.
"Timing is terribly important," said Howard Schweber, an assistant political science professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Savvy lawmakers are aware of the role a referendum's timing can play in mobilizing their supporters to vote in an election.
This is typical in states like California that have relied on statutory referendums for many years, Schweber said.
In Wisconsin, assuming the majority of the residents who strongly support the hunting and fishing rights amendment tend to lean toward Republican candidates, it would be to the Republicans' advantage to hold the referendum on the issue in a November election when legislative seats are at stake, he said.
On the flip side, Schweber suggests that Democrats, often dogged by an anti-gun, anti-hunting image, would benefit by taking care of the amendment in April and criticizing those who disagree for delaying the issue.
"It simultaneously removes a damaging issue from the election and does so in a way that gives the Republicans very little purchase to complain," Schweber said. "Very clever, those Democrats."
Legislative Democrats' intention is to get the law passed as soon as possible, not to maneuver politically, Rep. Greg Huber, D-Wausau, said Tuesday at the press conference announcing the plan.
"The longer it's out there, the longer political strategists are telling why it's better to put it on this date rather than that date," Huber said. "Sometimes they can get too smart."
The amendment would guarantee the right to hunt, fish, trap and take game in the state while allowing for "reasonable restrictions."
Amendments to the state constitution must be ratified in two consecutive legislative sessions, signed by the governor and approved by voters in a referendum.
The Legislature passed the hunting and fishing amendment for the first time with near-unanimous support last May. It must do so again by Feb. 15 to send it to the voters in April.
"I think it's going to pass and pass overwhelmingly, whenever it's brought up," said Assembly Minority Leader Spencer Black, D-Madison. But he argued that with such widespread support, there is little justification for postponing the vote, and if it is delayed the bill might be lost in the shuffle.
Republicans continue to voice their support of the bill but are reluctant to make any moves that might be construed as backing off on it.
"I think it's very important that we get this done," said Rep. Jerry Petrowski, R-Stettin. "I certainly would push to get it done, and the sooner the better, as far as I'm concerned," he said, while not explicitly supporting an April referendum date.
Rep. Scott Suder, R-Abbotsford, also would like to see the law become part of the constitution as soon as possible. But he said a November 2004 referendum would give advocates time to mobilize against opposition.
"I don't want to rush this," Suder said. "I want this, certainly, in the Wisconsin Constitution, but this is very important and I'm not willing to take any risk to give the anti-hunting groups any wiggle room here."
Also, planning the referendum for a November election during a presidential race would ensure a large pool of voters voicing their opinion on and their support for the law, he said.
Both parties say they intend to bring the law to the floor again. But the timing and ease with which the bill progresses likely will depend on which party gains or retains seats in each house and how well the two parties work together in the coming session.
http://www.wausaudailyherald.com/wdhlocal/275883983537877.shtml
"If cowardly and dishonorable men sometimes shoot unarmed men with army pistols or guns, the evil must be prevented by the penitentiary and gallows, and not by a general deprivation of a constitutional privilege." - Arkansas Supreme Court, 1878