Category: Hunting

Buying Camo is Child Abuse?

Paul Ryan took a little time out of campaigning in Ohio to pick up some hunting gear for his daughter who wants to get out to the field with him this fall, apparently. She already has her own rifle, so he has truly walked the walk when it comes to passing his shooting sports traditions. And, of course, when it came out that he was buying camo gear for his daughter, some came out screaming child abuse.

I appreciate that they highlighted there was no such “concern” from the these same folks when Obama announced that he was comforted by the fact that his daughters are protected by guns. Yet, apparently, teaching a girl to safely use one of her own is just horrible. Sexism much?

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Revisiting the Treaty Power?

Ilya Somin notes that Bond v. United States could possibly be going back to the Supreme Court, with a question that raises the Treaty Power of the United States. The treaty power is currently interpreted by the Courts to be an independent power that can be separately exercised from Congresses other enumerated powers, so the normal federalism limits don’t apply when it comes to a treaty. No treaty can stomp on the Bill of Rights, but beyond that the treaty power is fairly unlimited. I agree with Prof. Somin that this presents a problem:

I think the power to make treaties is best understood as a power allowing the federal government to make commitments regarding the use of its other enumerated powers, not a power that allows the federal government to legislate on whatever subjects it wants, so long as the issue is covered by a treaty. Among other things, the latter would enable the federal government to circumvent limits on the scope of its power by paying off a foreign power (e.g. – a weak client state dependent on US aid) to sign a treaty covering the subject.

I’d love to see the Supreme Court revisit this topic, and hold the treaty power can only be exercised within the scope of Congress’ other enumerated powers, but this would call a number of treaties into question, including those that affect hunting. I tend to think the Court will be cautious about a ruling that would affect current treaties.

The landmark ruling that lead to Congress’ treaty power being interpreted this way was Missouri v. Holland, which upheld the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918. Since then the Courts have tended to limit this power. Of course, Missouri v. Holland was decided in 1920, when the scope of the federal governments enumerated powers were considerably more constricted, so today it would probably be possible to argue that the 1918 treaty is a legitimate exercise of Congress’ enumerated powers, and is therefore still constitutional, even if the Court decides to further limit the treaty power.

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The New Civility

I realize that this stuff gets a little old, but I’m always amazed at the creativity that anti-gun folks bring to the table when it comes to silencing their political opponents. For example, one woman wants to transition from a volunteer military to one that institutes a draft based on political views:

This person wants everyone to know that those citizens who have a different interpretation of the Second Amendment clearly should be forced to pay for other people’s medical expenses, regardless of the fact that they have nothing to do with that person or the circumstances that caused medical care. Since I assume one would need to tax NRA members at or near 100% in order pay the entire healthcare needs of the rest of the country, I guess this person is advocating for government-mandated bankruptcy for all of those who disagree with his views:

This person believes that all NRA members are male. Of course, this comes with the always popular small manhood joke.

And for the groups that like to say they aren’t really trying to confiscate guns, well, maybe a little education is in order for their supporters:

Of course, maybe giving them that advice is a bad idea. If their followers were educated on the reality of politics and law, they might actually figure out how to win a few battles on the political front. Oh, wait, that requires support from people who actually turn up to vote on the issue, so scratch that.

And, finally, we have a few more tweets about Olympian Corey Cogdell who has been witness to the love and understanding that animal rights activists show for all of God’s creatures on this earth:

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More Attacks on Sport Shooters & Hunters

I already highlighted the Twitter and blog attacks on U.S. Olympic shooter Corey Cogdell last night, but reader TS pointed out one of the Facebook groups organizing the attacks. Here’s just a sampling of comments I caught with screenshots this morning before we lost power.

I know that Shootin’ Buddy was noting that many of the threatening comments on Twitter were coming from people in other countries, but several of these folks are Americans.

I also thought it was worth highlighting because one of the comments relates to something I posted about recently – when someone who disagrees with gun owners or hunters on a matter of public policy, they try to define said disagreement of sign of a mental illness.

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Abusive Anti-Hunting Advocates are Targeting U.S. Olympic Shooters

With the various Olympic records being shattered by American shooters in London, there’s an increased interest in the human interest stories behind Team USA. Unfortunately, that increased coverage has resulted in animal rights groups learning that many of our Olympic shooters – gasp – hunt! Here’s one report about the biggest attacks on Corey Cogdell:

She grew up in Alaska where wild game was what’s for dinner, hunting and fishing with her father and her sister. It was hunting that lead her to competitive shooting, which lead her to the bronze medal in the 2008 Beijing Olympic games. But, the rabid animal rights groups…started berating Cogdell with nasty comments and death threats. …

Cogdell gave a great statement on her Facebook page defending her hunting. Unfortunately, the comments have become so terrible that she decided to take down her fan page.

By the time I heard about what was happening, the page was removed. However, that hasn’t stopped animal rights activists from attacking her on blogs, Twitter, and other social networks. Here’s one woman who tries to claim that Cogdell conducts her Olympic practice on animals. You can find a Tumblr user who not only spreads the same lie about using animals for target practice, but goes on to say this about our Team USA Olympian:

Corey demonstrates true pyschopathic behaviour in this photograph by her lack of remorse.

Activists have started a petition out to convince the US Olympic Committee to kick hunters (and all of those who defend lawful hunting) off the team. Another animal rights blogger rants about how an athlete who hunts should be considered as engaging in misconduct:

Misconduct is a very mild word when used in reference to Olympic medalist, Corey Cogdell.

But I think Twitter is where some of the worst things have been posted to Cogdell’s account. There are the threats & wishes for bodily harm:

There are the wishes for her to fail:


Yes, this is the kind of support that our Olympic athletes are getting right now as they prepare for their competitions. So, if you’d like to lend a little support to Team USA, you can find the list of all of the shooters on Twitter here. I’m sure they could use a bit more positive support after seeing what Corey has had to deal with.

UPDATE: Here’s even more threats against Corey from other networks. More Americans are involved than on the Twitter accounts, including a Minnesota man who says he wants to physically assault her.

Below the jump, there’s more of a taste of how these animal rights folks view hunters just because they don’t agree with the pastime. I suppose it’s a great representation of the new civility. Continue reading “Abusive Anti-Hunting Advocates are Targeting U.S. Olympic Shooters”

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Make-A-Wish’s Hunting Ban

It’s long been known in the shooting and hunting communities that if a teen with a life-threatening medical condition has a desire to go hunting, Make-a-Wish will turn them down. Their wishes aren’t politically correct enough for the organization. This week, an Oregon outlet is covering a local Hunt of a Lifetime chapter and makes sure their readers know why Make-a-Wish decided to bar kids from hunting:

In 1998, Matt Pattison of Eerie, Penn., was losing his battle with Hodgkin’s lymphoma when the Make-A-Wish Foundation denied his request.

Not only was the 19-year-old just over Make-A-Wish’s age limit, but his dream — for an Alaskan moosehunt — put the international nonprofit in a tough spot with certain donors, among them animal rights and gun control activists.

A year later, while Tina Pattison mourned her son, Make-A-Wish made its stance official — no hunting-related wishes.

Yup, gun control activists helped create the policy that it’s better to keep a dying teen out of their program instead of granting a wish that involves firearms or bows. How very reasonable of them. It’s just common sense, after all, to not even allow a 17-year-old who probably won’t see his/her 18th or 19th birthday to be considered for a hunting wish.

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Punishment: Take Away their PBR and Lululemon

Via Uncle, we learn that NYC hipsters decided to make a movie about surviving off the grid. To do so, they decided that it would be a brilliant idea to illegally kill two deer outside of deer season and without a license. Their defense is that they didn’t even know there were hunting regulations.

The crew was practicing yoga inside the farm’s main house one day when someone spotted a herd of deer in the neighboring field. They grabbed a rifle and camera and ran outside, Dickinson said.

Actor Paul Manza, a 34-year-old Brooklyn yoga instructor who plays “Paul” the yoga instructor in the film and had no prior acting or hunting experience, pulled the trigger. It was unclear who owned the rifle or whether it was registered.

The bullet pierced one deer and passed into a second one behind it, killing the first deer and wounding the second one, Manza and Dickinson said. The crew chased the second deer into the woods and shot it again to put it out of its suffering, Manza said. …

Dickinson said he didn’t think about the legality of hunting and the crew did not secure a permit for the deer hunt — but he added that the film’s publicist, Jenny Lawhorn, is currently in discussions with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.

Only a jackass from New York City would send a publicist to negotiate something that, according to the article, starts with a $2,000 fine and can potentially include jail time.

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I’m a Hunter, But …

Looks like the media is using a lot of disinformation about NRA and what it stands for to drag out, one again, the “I’m a gun owner… but” meme:

On its Web site, the N.R.A. calls itself the “largest pro-hunting organization in the world.” Yet during election season, the N.R.A. makes endorsements based largely on candidates’ voting records on gun control — with little if any concern for their views on other issues of interest to hunters.

I’m sure it will be news to the Board’s hunting policy committee, and also to ILA’s hunting policy department, that NRA doesn’t do anything for hunting. You have a lot of these lefty hunters that think the only thing matters is an environmental record, as is the animal rights whack jobs and access to land are not big issues.

It sounds like she’s new to hunting, so I’ll give her the benefit of doubt, but if she thinks they won’t go after her hunting rifle high-precision long range sniper rifle, she’s delusional. If she thinks groups like PETA or HSUS won’t ban or restrict hunting as much as possible, she’s delusional. I would welcome a serious discussion with this author on the issues, because I think she’s missing the big picture. The hunting community is an ecosystem, and a very unhealthy one at that. If the health of that community isn’t freshly nurtured, hunting is finished. Hunters will be reduced in numbers until they no longer retain the political power to stave off attacks, and if Lily Raff McCaulou has her way, I will not be in that fight, because as a shooter, you’ve acquiesced to banning the guns I shoot with, so why would I then lift a finger when you’re finally eaten last?

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PETA: Caring More About Animals Than Hungry Africans

Apparently they are whining about Donald Trump’s son going on Safari. It makes you wonder what PETA would have done if they were around in Teddy Roosevelt’s time. Teddy probably killed a big animal on every continent. Either way, I know some folks who go on Safari, and the meat is used. The animal gets butchered, the nearby villages get meat, and the hunter gets a trophy. The local economy also get money, which helps support a market for the animals, which helps support their conservation. But PETA won’t let pesky facts get in the way!

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