A CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT TO HUNT AND FISH CONTINUES ITS JOURNEY TOWARD THE 2024 BALLOT .
The FRONT LINE
MOVING ON IN OHIO
A CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT TO HUNT AND FISH CONTINUES ITS JOURNEY TOWARD THE 2024 BALLOT .
With three hearings in 2023 , including a House Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing in mid-November , House Joint Resolution 5 in Ohio carried over to the 2024 legislative session . If successful , the resolution would appear on the ballot in November , which would enshrine hunting and fishing as constitutional rights in Ohio as amendments to the state Constitution . Should the resolution pass , Ohio would become the 24th state to have constitutional amendments protecting the right to hunt and fish .
This important resolution gives Ohio ’ s sportsmen the opportunity to strengthen the Buckeye State ’ s right to hunt and fish as animal-rights extremists continue to work every possible angle to eliminate hunting and fishing nationwide . Ohio needs this important protection added to the state Constitution to protect our heritage and the North American Wildlife Conservation Model from future attacks by multimillion dollar , out-of-state animal-rights organizations determined to destroy both .
The proposal to enact Section 22 of Article I of the Constitution of the State of Ohio would read as follows :
Article I , Section 22 A . The right to hunt , fish , and harvest wildlife is a valued part of Ohio ’ s heritage and shall be forever preserved for the public good .
B . The people have a right , which includes the right to use traditional methods , to hunt , fish , and harvest wildlife that are traditionally pursued . This right is subject only to the laws prescribed by the General Assembly and rules prescribed by virtue of the authority of the General Assembly to do either of the following : 1 . Promote wildlife conservation and management ; 2 . Preserve the future of hunting and fishing .
C . Hunting and fishing shall be a preferred means of managing and controlling wildlife in this state .
D . This section shall not be construed to limit the application of any provision of law or of the constitution relating to trespass or property rights .
JOINING THE RANKS
Currently , 23 states have constitutional amendments protecting the right to hunt and fish . Last year , Florida qualified an initiative to put the question before its citizens on the 2024 ballot . House Joint Resolution 1157 unanimously passed the House and passed the Senate 38 to 1 . Unfortunately , House Bill 372 in Montana failed to reach the required two-thirds votes of all the members of the legislature when it failed on the senate floor . While right to hunt and fish amendments have yet to be seriously tested under judicial scrutiny , they provide important protections and legal hurdles the animal-rights movement must consider and overcome when crafting policy that destroys our heritage .
PHOTOGRAPH ADOBE STOCK BY
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