You and your son are creeping through the woods on a perfect October morning. The sun is brightening the eastern horizon, the air is crisp, the leaves are falling. Yesterday, squirrels were off-limits, but today they’re legal.
You sneak up to an old oak tree you’ve been hunting since you were a boy. It’s a tree you always hit on opening day, but leave to the squirrels the rest of the year.
You explained to your son in radiant detail the evening before what it’s like to hunt squirrels, and how it’s changed since you were a boy. You gave him instruction about sneaking up to a tree, minimizing movement and being well camouflaged.
Today, he’s living it. His heart races in his chest as a big fox squirrel emerges from a crook in the tree and heads down the trunk.
You whisper to your son to get ready, and not to do anything until you give the word. Finally, the squirrel is near the base of the tree, and you yell, “Now!”
Your son rears back and hurls the rock that was in his tiny hands, but misses the squirrel by 4 feet. It runs back up the tree and hides in the nook.
Why didn’t your son just shoot the squirrel? Well, it just wasn’t an option. Shotguns had been outlawed years earlier.
Is America on the verge of such a scenario? Probably not. But it may be sometime in our lifetimes.
Would you want to vote for a politician who vowed — or worse, voted — to outlaw shotguns? Since you’re reading this magazine, I’d suspect you probably wouldn’t.
But some of you may be getting ready to do that this month.
It’s not my intention to tell you how to vote when you walk into that curtain-draped booth in a few days, but if hunting is important to you, you need to know the facts before you pull that lever.
Ignore the photo op shots you see of John Kerry hunting pheasant near his home. That’s presenting an image. Here’s John Kerry’s record on gun ownership and hunting:
FACT No. 1: Kerry has voted nine times to ban semi-automatic firearms, most recently in March 2004.
FACT No. 2: In November 2003, Kerry co-sponsored a bill that would ban all semi-automatic shotguns.
FACT No. 3: Kerry voted in March 2004 to ban most center-fire rifle ammunition, including the most common rounds used by hunters and target shooters.
FACT No. 4: Kerry voted to hold the American firearms industry responsible for the illegal acts of violent criminals.
FACT No. 5: Kerry was one of only 18 senators to oppose the Firearms Owners Protection Act, which ended alarming abuses being committed under the 1968 Gun Control Act.
FACT No. 6: Kerry voted in 1999 and 2004 to criminalize legal sales between private individuals at gun shows.
FACT No. 7: Kerry said on CNN’s Late Edition, “I think you ought to tax all ammunition, personally. I think you ought to tax guns.”
This information is available at the Brady Campaign web site, which applauds Kerry for his consistent opposition to guns and hunting.
Again, it’s not my intention to tell you how to vote, but it is my duty to pass along information that could have a profound effect on the sports we love.
If hunting is your choice, John Kerry isn’t.
