have you noticed that guns are now routinely called “ weapons ” even by folks in our community ? I do not know about you , but I have never called one of my personal firearms a weapon . It would even be comical for me to ask friends if they brought their “ weapon ” on a weekend visit to a sporting clays course or to a duck blind . And yet , I hear the term often when policy debates spring up in today ’ s public square . As you know , we have been fighting the use of “ assault weapon ” to mischaracterize semi-automatic rifles for several decades , but I ’ ve noted a recent shift among too many sportsmen and -women that “ weapon ” now applies to any firearm . That is a gift that keeps giving for the antis . We must take that hill back and it starts in our community .
SA : Where is public opinion today on issues related to hunting , fishing , and trapping ?
TA : I want to personally thank the hard work of the team of survey specialists at Responsive Management ( RM ) who regularly survey Americans to provide excellent data on public attitudes regarding hunting , fishing and trapping . The great news is that a majority of the American public continues to
According to data collected by Responsive Management , 84 percent of Americans approve of hunting for meat .
support legal and regulated hunting , fishing and trapping . But as the RM surveys illustrate , this support can falter depending on the issue .
In particular , the public ’ s support greatly depends on the reason I am hunting , fishing or trapping . If for food , a clear supermajority of the public supports me , but if the reason is to gather a trophy , the vast majority of Americans oppose . Americans also support the concept of wildlife management as well , so if I hunt or trap to help manage wildlife , Americans support , but if I am doing so only for “ sport ” or recreation , that support is greatly diminished . Turning back to our discussion about being thoughtful , these data points show how important it is for all of us to center our words , messages and social media arguments around the parts of our story that resonate clearly and positively with average Americans . I strongly encourage every Sportsmen ’ s Alliance member to seek out these RM surveys , available online , and get to know public opinion on our issues .
To read the Responsive Management study , “ Americans ’ Attitudes Toward Hunting , Fishing , Sport Shooting , and Trapping ,” visit fishwildlife . org / afwa-informs / research .
COURTESY OF LEUPOLD
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