After amendment passes Senate, special groups have little influence

A proposed amendment to protect popular Hoosier pastimes such as hunting, fishing and farming passed in the Indiana State Senate last week, and select bipartisan groups expressed seemingly little concern.

Sen. Mark Stoops, D-Bloomington, said the legislation was proposed and passed based on the fear that people have of groups like the Humane Society pushing to take these rights away.

“It’s amazing for me to think that there are senators who believe that there is even the possibility of that happening,” Stoops said.  

Stoops said that in reality, this is just a feel-good resolution for some people who are concerned they won’t be able to hunt or fish.

“This is more of a statement more than anything else. It has no specific effect on our department or how people acquire their hunting and fishing licenses,” said Chris Smith, legislative director for the Executive Office of the Department of Natural Resources.

The proposed constitutional amendment passed the Senate with a 38-10 vote. It now will move to the Indiana House. If the amendment is passed there, it will then go on the November 2014 ballot for the state of Indiana.

If the amendment passes, it will still be subject to all local regulations, Stoops said.
Erin Huang, Indiana State Director for the Humane Society of the United States, said in an email that the HSUS does not have a position on the proposed amendment and that they are more concerned about the worst wildlife abuses.

“Practices like poaching, captive hunting and fox penning — that animal advocates and hunters alike can agree are unacceptable,” Huang said in an email. “The legislature should focus on the other far more important bills pending this session.”

The proposed amendment “provides that the people have a right to hunt, fish, harvest game, or engage in the agricultural or commercial production of meat, fish, poultry, or dairy products, which is a valued part of our heritage and shall be forever preserved for the public good, subject to laws prescribed by the general assembly and rules prescribed by virtue of the authority of the general assembly.”

There were no discussions of gun control when this constitutional amendment was passed in the Indiana State Senate, Stoops said.

The proposed amendment also “provides that hunting and fishing are the preferred means of managing and controlling wildlife.”

It also does not limit the application of any laws relating to trespass or property rights.

Stoops said while there is the fear that activist groups could take away these rights, and he wishes the activist groups had more influence, they currently are not as authoritative as perceived.  

“It’s just interesting to hear that people feel that these groups have more influence than massive industrial farms, or the National Rifle Association, who have billions of dollars and plenty of lobbyists to affect legislation,” Stoops said.