Editorial Opinion

There is a crucial vote today that can affect the future of hunting & fishing in Tennessee from now on. And I'm NOT talking about the Presidential Primary. It's a vote in Tennessee's Senate Judiciary Committee.

To amend or not to amend... that is the question.

Today is a crucial vote for Tennessee House Joint Resolution 108... a measure that keeps the so-called, Hunting & Fishing Constitutional Amendment on track.

It has been an arduous, long-fought battle.... yet the battle has stayed mostly quiet and behind-the-scenes. The battle has pitted the Tennessee Wildlife Foundation against the NRA. "Against the NRA," is not a comfortable position to be in... especially in the world of politics.

Click HERE and you can read an explanation of what the battle has been all about.

Word came last week that a compromise had been reached... however you probably have to be a "constitutional expert attorney" to understand what the compromise means. For your reading pleasure, below is ORIGINAL language, followed by the current AMENDED language:

ORIGINAL CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT LANGUAGE:
The citizens of this state have a right to hunt, fish, and harvest game and fish, subject to regulations and restrictions authorized by this constitution and prescribed by law. When reviewing such regulations and restrictions, a state court shall utilize a rational basis standard, as the standard has been defined by state courts through case law. This section shall not be construed to abrogate any private property rights, the state's sovereignty over game and fish, or regulation of commercial activities.

AMENDED LANGUAGE:
The citizens of this state shall have the personal right to hunt and fish, subject to reasonable regulations and restrictions imposed by law. The declaration of this right does not abrogate any private or public property rights, nor does it limit the state's power to regulate commercial activity.

Tom Scott, TWF past-President who has lobbied for the amendment, says, "what we gave up is a matter of judicial interpretation. Now we're banking on judges making right decisions rather than giving them specific guidance."

The NRA has placed this plea on their web site: This legislation must be passed with Senator Jackson’s amendments.

If they're pleading for the "amended passage," that must mean they are happy with the compromise.

Scott admits that it does take a constitutional attorney to understand all the language semantics and legaleze. He says however it's a battle worth fighting.

"This is all preventative measures," he said. "We're seeing (the anti-hunters) whittle away at hunts all across the country. This is an impediment to those folks that want to whittle away at our hunting rights."

If it passes the committee today, it goes for a vote before the full Senate where it must pass by a simple majority. Then the measure must go to the House and Senate again in the next session where it must pass by a two-thirds majority... and then it goes for a public vote. The earliest that might happen is November 2010.

Of course at that point we are inviting the anti-hunting element to come to our state to try and defeat passage among the large majority of Tennesseans who could really care less.

Scott says, "I'd say our odds are better than 50-50 in Tennessee. If we lived in New Jersey it might be different."

I wish I were as optimistic as Scott.

I want to be wrong, but I think we're inviting trouble that could potentially take us a step backward rather than a step forward. Granted, if we don't do it now, we probably couldn't do it in the future as our population becomes even more urban than it is now.

But for what it's worth, I don't need a Constitutional Amendment to protect my hunting rights. For me it is quite simple... the day they "criminalize" hunting is the day I'll become a criminal.

You can go to the Tennessee Legislature Web Page and watch Live streaming video of today's Judiciary Committee Meeting at 4:30 Eastern time. Once on the page, click "Senate" in the lefthand menu and then click "Video Streaming."

If you want to share your opinion with Legislators, click "Senate>Committees" to find the list of Judiciary Committee members.