I just got another email from AZSFW...
SPORTSMEN'S ACTION NETWORK
Newsletter October 28, 2010
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OUR MISSION: To make Arizona sportsmen an effective force in determining political, legislative, educational and administrative issues that promote wildlife, wildlife habitat, and continuation of our hunting and fishing traditions.
Vote Yes on Prop 109, the Right to Hunt and Fish
Vote Yes on Prop 109, the Right to Hunt and Fish
Don't believe what the opponents to Prop 109 are telling you. The Sierra Club Grand Canyon Chapter (SCGCC), Humane Society of the U. S. (HSUS) and Animal Defense League of Arizona (ADLA) are lying to the voters about what Prop 109 actually does and does not do.
First, they say it is a power grab by the legislature. It is not! The Legislature currently has the power to make all legislation including laws related to wildlife. The power is and always has been vested with the Legislature in Article 4 of the Arizona Constitution. Look it up for yourself. Prop 109 does not change the authority of the legislature to legislate. They have the authority today. The Legislature put Prop 109 on the ballot because sportsmen and wildlife conservation organizations asked them to do so.
Second, they say it removes power from the Game and Fish Commission.
This is another misrepresentation of fact. The Arizona Game & Fish Commission helped draft the language contained in Prop 109 and voted 4-1 to support the bill as it was going through the Legislature. The Commission also voted 5-0 to endorse the "Yes on Prop 109" ballot argument it placed in the Secretary of State voter election pamphlet. The Commission would not have voted in favor of something that created its own demise or otherwise limited its power.
The Legislature, of its own free will, delegated power to the Arizona Game & Fish Commission in 1929 and still does so today. Sportsmen and wildlife conservation groups, including those in support of Prop 109, have fought tenaciously over the years to protect the Commission and we will continue to do so.
Third, the opposition says sound science will be replaced by politics. All you have to do is read the plain language contained in Prop 109. In paragraph B, it says that laws and rules authorized under this section shall have the "purpose of wildlife conservation and management" while "preserving the future of hunting and fishing".
Fourth, they say Prop 109 is not needed; Arizonans already have the right to hunt and fish. If this is the case, why is HSUS spending $250,000 to try and defeat Prop 109? Answer - because it will make it more difficult for them to eliminate the ability to hunt and fish using the emotionally-charged voter initiative process like they did in California to ban mountain lion hunting!
Wayne Pacelle, President and CEO of HSUS is on record himself saying, "We are going to use the ballot box and the democratic process to stop all hunting in the United States...We will take it species by species until all hunting is stopped in California. Then we will take it state by state." If Prop 109 passes they will have to obtain more signatures to manage wildlife one species at a time at the ballot box and that will make it more difficult for them to use emotion to fool the voters. Don't let Arizona go the way of California.
See who supports Prop 109. Please go to
www.commissionersyeson109.com to see the list of supporters. Ask yourself, who do I trust? The current Arizona Game & Fish Commission, former commissioners, retired game and fish personnel who have spent their lives conserving and managing wildlife, wildlife conservation groups, Arizona Sportsmen for Wildlife, the National Rifle Association and other like-minded groups who have spent millions of dollars and millions of man-hours conserving wildlife or organizations like the Sierra Club, HSUS and ADLA. The answer should be a no-brainer. Support Prop 109!
Records indicate voters are holding onto their early ballots rather than mailing them back promptly. If you still have an early ballot, please mail it in today in order to get your vote acknowledged on Election night. Early Ballots received late in the mail are not likely to get counted until a couple of weeks after the election.
Suzanne Gilstrap
Arizona Sportsmen for Wildlife
VOTE YES ON PROP 109!!
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Trent Swanson
Western Hunter Magazine
www.westernhuntermagazine.net
Outdoorsmans
www.outdoorsmans.com
Wilderness Athlete
www.wildernessathlete.com