109

[slopoke36]

For the life of me I can not understand what voting yes to 109 will do for me, other than give the government more control over what I can already do legally.... Someone please clue me in to what is really going on!

 

http://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php/Ariz...mendment_(2010)

[EBB]

Just look who is for it and who is against it. Jerry Weiers is the main guy in the legislature who brought this to us. He is a lifelong hunter and has done more for our causes than anyone else I know in the Legislature.

There is more comment on this in another thread here. It's a good read. Basically if the Sierra Club is against it we have to be for it!

EBB

 

Here is Representative Weiers Bio. He is for us! We need more just like him.

 

Personal Information:

Home City: Glendale

Occupation: Businessman

Member Since: 2004

Pronounced (WIRES)

 

 

 

Representative Jerry Weiers is a State Representative from Arizona representing Arizona’s finest District, district 12. He was first elected in 2004. He, along with his brother, Jim Weiers, became the first brothers in Arizona history to serve in the House of Representatives at the same time.

 

 

 

He is chairmen of the AZ House of Representatives Military Affairs and Public Safety Committee, as well as a member of the National Conference of State Legislatures Military Sustainability Taskforce. He also serves as a board member for the Phoenix Air National Guard Patriots (PANG Patriots).

 

 

 

Helping Veteran’s and military personnel has been a priority to him since first elected in 2004. Currently, he, is working on a project with Military and Law Enforcement Agencies to help Veterans reintegrate to society after returning from active duty tours. Another project he is working on is a Life Line system for Veterans providing them with contact information for organizations that specifically help them.

 

 

 

He is an avid outdoorsman and is the President of Arizona Legislators for Wildlife, and a Four year member of the National Assembly of Sportsmen’s Caucuses. He is also a life member of the Arizona Desert Bighorn Sheep Society, a life member of the Arizona Elk Society and a life member of the Arizona Antelope Foundation.

 

 

 

He has been married 27 years. He and his wife Sandy have one daughter. He has lived in Phoenix since 1966. He has also lived briefly in Alaska, spent two years in New Mexico and was partners in the ownership of three restaurants in Texas. He returned to Phoenix in 1988 and founded Weiers Trailer Sales, which manufactures and sells utility-style trailers to clients statewide. He is an accomplished pilot with nearly 20 years of experience. He owns a small business pulling banners behind his plane at events around the valley. He is also a National Bank of Arizona Not for Profit Advisory Board member. He is a motorcycle enthusiast, who rides a Harley Davidson Ultra Classic and is a member of the El Zaribah Shriners Motorcycle Unit. He performs in parades across the state.

 

 

[joeybari]

Just look who is for it and who is against it. Jerry Weiers is the main guy in the legislature who brought this to us. He is a lifelong hunter and has done more for our causes than anyone else I know in the Legislature.

There is more comment on this in another thread here. It's a good read. Basically if the Sierra Club is against it we have to be for it!

EBB

+1

[coyotekid]

Just look who is for it and who is against it. Jerry Weiers is the main guy in the legislature who brought this to us. He is a lifelong hunter and has done more for our causes than anyone else I know in the Legislature.

There is more comment on this in another thread here. It's a good read. Basically if the Sierra Club is against it we have to be for it!

EBB

+1

 

+2

 

Here is a link that I was sent via email with a video the NRA put out. if you haven't seen it it basically says the same thing as EBB's post.

 

!

 

also, the very large green banner at the top of the page you are reading also sends a message that other people support the vote on 109

[slopoke36]

Thank you that helps a lot.

[Heat]

The reason to vote YES is to make it much harder for animal rights extremists to do their thing in this state. Do you recall the ban on trapping on public lands in Arizona? That was decided at the ballot. Are you aware that you can't hunt or possess a mountain lion in California? They outlawed all lion hunting in the state at the ballot box. I'm not sure where you've lived in your life but I'm a native of Arizona. In my lifetime I have seen many changes in the demographics of this state. We used to be all about copper, cattle, and cotton, now it's a much different place. I would prefer that the professionals authorized to do their jobs by our legislature get to make this policy, not the potential uninformed but well intentioned non-hunter. This may not be about protecting our ability to hunt right now, but it sure will protect us in the future. This will also ensure that hunters have a place in wildlife management. There is no revenue for the State to be had when a wolf eats an elk. You can't pay for research when no one buys a tag. Hunting is not only a basic human function, it is a part of the management scheme and always should be, therefore there is an attempt to make this a part of our Constitution.

 

Nick

[hawkeye]

I am a life long resident of Arizona and hunting and fishing has been my life. I will probably vote for 109 but not without reservation. It scares the heck out of me that polititions will be in charge of our hunting and fishing rules and we will have no say. I have seen the Game and Fish Dept. go from a game and fish Dept. to a large money making arm of the government in that every decision made is a money decision. Almost every new employee is hired from out of state from places like Washington and Oregon without any outdoor experience or practical knowledge,except what they learned in a classroom. And what really scares me is that their whole outlook is based on what teachers have taught them, not any real life experience in the field. Any time you give absolute power to one group, corruption and fraud will soon follow.

[CRAZYBUCK]

Prop 109 was referred to the ballot by the Arizona Legislature. It is a proposed constitutional amendment that will provide Arizonans protection for the right to hunt and fish now and for future generations. This amendment to the Arizona State Constitution is an action to do what our forefathers never thought would be necessary. Protect the right to hunt and fish. Hunting and fishing was a means of survival in the early southwest. Today, with the changes in our society, hunting has become more of a recreational pursuit, although many that hunt and fish do so for the enjoyment of the food they put on the table. While our forefathers protected our right to bear arms, it never occurred to them that the heritage of hunting and fishing would ever be challenged.

 

Over the past few decades there have been more and more attempts by animal rights activists to impose restrictions on the ability to hunt and fish. In 1992 animal rights activists placed an initiative on the Arizona ballot that would have banned hunting and trapping. Voters rejected that attempt. In 1994, a modified version of the 1992 initiative was place before voters, and they were successful in prohibiting the ability to use trapping on public lands thereby eliminating an important and proven tool for wildlife management. Unfortunately they played on the emotions of voters, rather than telling the true stories behind the sciences of trapping and the benefits they hold for all wildlife species. Other initiatives to restrict the ability to hunt and fish have been attempted elsewhere, like the California initiative that removed all mountain lion hunting to the detriment of other wildlife. These same types of actions could be brought to bear on the state of Arizona. If they are unsuccessful at the ballot box, then they’ll begin playing this out in the courts, ultimately tying the hands of wildlife management agencies at both the state and federal levels. This constitutional amendment will go a long ways in seeing that this can’t take place here.

 

Many people in the state of Arizona simply do not know that it is hunters and fishermen that provide the majority of funding for the Arizona Game and Fish Department, including their wildlife management and fisheries management. Through hunting and fishing licenses money is generated to support most on-the-ground projects to improve fish and wildlife habitat. In addition, more money is raised at the federal level by purchases of hunting and fishing supplies. This money is then turned around to the state to support additional projects, including research, habitat purchases, land protections and many other activities. Without hunting and fishing, and the money that those participating raise, most of the wildlife you see today would be non-existent. Sportsmen are the true conservationists putting their money and time into making sure that everyone in this state has the opportunity to always see wildlife and share in the great outdoor experiences that come along with it. If we lose hunting and fishing the outdoors as we know it will be seriously compromised.

 

 

[TrentSwanson]

If you are a sportsman (or woman!) there is simply no other way to vote on Prop 109 other than YES!!

 

Sadly, our opponents have done a great job at clouding the issue of a so-called "power-grab" and "giving control to the legislature." Nothing could be further from the truth. Search out a couple other posts on this subject for comments by Tony Mandile. He explains it very well.

 

In a nutshell, the legislature ALREADY HAS THE POWER TO REGULATE WILDLIFE. They choose to delegate that responsibility to the AZG&F Commission, which directs the AZG&F Department. This is how it is done currently, and how it has always been done. The only thing Prop 109 will do in regards to legislative control, is prevent anti-hunting organizations from running ballot propositions as they have successfully done in the past.

 

In addition, simply look at the supporters of this measure: Every major wildlife conservation and sportsmen's organization in the state! (NRA, RMEF, AES, ADA, AAF, ADBSS, AZSFW, YVRGC, SCI, etc., etc., etc.)

 

Now look at the opponents: HSUS, Sierra Club, and the like.

 

VOTE YES ON PROP 109!!

[robertramsey61]

Already voted YES,

[Heat]

I think the part that is confusing most people is the "exclusive authority to the legislature" part. What everyone needs to know is that the legislature already has authority. EACH and EVERY Board, Commission, and Agency, including of course Arizona Game and Fish, the Department of Corrections, DPS, ADEQ, the State Health Department are all the rest have their authority vested in the legislature. They ALL have their laws enacted through the legislature. They ALL are either re-authorized every ten years or done away with (sunset).

 

The only thing this will change is it will make it more difficult, but not impossible for animal rights folks to get their agenda passed at the ballot box. I say not impossible because a constitutional amendment could always be removed with a 2/3rd vote.

 

It is obvious we are not doing a very good job getting our message out if lifelong hunters are believing the garbage that the Sierra Club and the Humane Society of the United States wants non-hunters to believe. For example HAWKEYE writes "It scares the heck out of me that polititions will be in charge of our hunting and fishing rules and we will have no say." Sorry to call you out on this partner but we need to know why you would believe the people we fight so hard against, rather than the multitude of groups that have everything to do with OUR way of life. The anti-hunting community has been particularly effective at getting their false message out and broadcast gladly through the liberal media. We are making headway to rebut those assertions, but sometimes the first punch wins the fight. Hopefully every hunter/angler will get off their complacent behinds and DO SOMETHING to make this happen rather than let the usual 1% do all the work for them.

 

This is about hunters and anglers having the RIGHT to pursue their activities without the threat of a ballot initiative from well financed and well organized anti-hunters to ban whatever it is they want banned. It is NOT about giving absolute power to the legislature. It really is as simple as that.

 

Nick

[hawkeye]

I'm not some stupid kid who doesn't know what I am talking about. Let me tell you that the legislature, and judicial branches are already full of people who don't give a dang about your right to hunt. Just because we make a constitutional ammendment doesn't mean more and more won't gain power. I was trying to make a point with the Game and Fish Dept. It is full of anti hunters and you people refuse to see it. I have been hunting in Arizone for 45 years and Arizona politics makes me sick. I voted yes on 109 but I am not stupid enough to think it will make much of a difference

[slopoke36]

This is why I asked the question. I have the right to hunt right now! So, why do we need a law to say we can still hunt? I understand that this is a "just in case" law, but does that make this thing right? It is like the law makers are forcing my hand. I don't like this.

[TrentSwanson]

Hawkeye,

 

First, I commend you for your time and dedication to hunting and fishing in Arizona. I don't think you are wrong about the legislature or the path AZGFD has followed recently.

 

Let me tell you a little about myself and why I feel so strongly about Prop 109 and why it will be good for all of us... I am a transplant, having only lived in AZ for about 16 years. I was born and raised in Colorado and have been hunting and fishing my entire life - my first fishing trip to the high country of Colorado was before I could walk. That means I have been in the woods every year for over 35 years! I have a degree in Forestry from NAU and first got involved in wildlife politics while a student when the anti's put the first trapping ban on the ballot. Since then, I worked as a campaign coordinator for Prop 102 in 2000, which would have limited the anti's ability to change wildlife law via the initiative process. I have served on the Board of AZ Sportsmen for Wildlife since its inception, mainly because I feel so strongly about the political side of wildlife. I work in the outdoor recreation industry, and my 3-month-old son has made me think a lot about the future of hunting and fishing.

 

I understand your hesitancy about the legislature, but our current system is controlled by the legislature. That won't change. Prop 109 just ensures that the current system stays in place and that the anti's won't be able to effect change at the ballot box.

 

As for AZGFD being made up of non-residents and anti's, well that's another issue entirely. There is no doubt that the former director and former commissioners were not friendly to hunters, but luckily we have a couple of new commissioners who are, and the Commission Appointment Bill that was passed during the last legislative session will ensure that sportsmen are always represented for commission appointments. We have been working hard within the legislature and in the political realm to educate the politicians, as well as their constituents about the value of hunters, anglers, and shooters to wildlife management.

 

I am glad (and thankful) that you voted yes on Prop 109. It is not the end-all-be-all solution to our problems, but it is another way for sportsmen to stand up and proactively fight the anti's, instead of always being forced into a corner.

 

And I guess that's what's its all about for me - I want to make sure I can watch my son catch his first fish and shoot his first deer and that he will do the same with his kids and grandkids the way my parents and grandparents did with me. If sportsmen are always fighting from the corner, we'll always be stuck in the corner. I like the idea of being in the center of the ring, putting up a fair fight against those who want to take things away from me.

[TrentSwanson]

slopoke36,

 

Thanks for asking the questions... no one should follow blindly without searching out answers for themselves!

 

As I see it, you are spot-on with part of your last statement, and a little off-base with another part:

 

We do not have the right to hunt currently - we are allowed the privilege to hunt via laws and rules established by the legislature, the AZGF Commission, and the AZGF Department. We do not have the constitutionally protected "right" to hunt. Prop 109 will elevate our privilege to a right, which will make it harder to take away in the future.

 

So I agree with the second part of your statement: Prop 109 is a proactive, "just in case" measure! The anti's did not put anything on the ballot this year trying to take away our ability to hunt. However, they have before, and they will again! In addition, they work tirelessly behind the scenes, at commission meetings, and via lawsuits to prevent sportsmen access, limit our influence, stop us from hunting, shorten our seasons, etc. Prop 109 will help ensure that hunting is always considered a priority for wildlife management, not some hair-brained scheme developed by the anti's.

 

One more thing... the lawmakers are not forcing your hand. The NRA and every major conservation/sportsmen's organization in the state helped to get this on the ballot. They just used the legislative process to get it there. Don't believe the opponents. This was not developed by politicians and this will not benefit politicians. This was developed by sportsmen and it will benefit sportsmen, and by protecting the current system of scientifically-based wildlife management, it will benefit EVERY wildlife species and EVERY resident of our state.

 

VOTE YES ON PROP 109!!