Well, Achilles, I agree with some of that. For example, here, I cannot afford an elk tag. That's not right. My belief is hunting is a right that should not be taken away because a handful of people don't agree with hunting morally. Now, a ring of elk poachers here just lost their hunting rights. I fully support that. People like that don't deserve them.
The 2nd Amendment is a case of a right that has some limitations. Yes, our government has gone way too far in restricting that right, but it's usually state governments that do that (such as California, for example.) Does that mean I think people should be allowed to own anything they like? No. There is no valid reason for individual persons to own something like, say, a 155mm self-propelled howitzer, for example. But do I think society has a valid reason to forbid carrying a personal weapon for self-defense? No. Society has a collective right to defend itself against private ownership of things like artillery pieces, nuclear weapons, bioweapons, bombs, and so forth through enacting laws forbidding private ownership of same. But the individual has an equal individual right to defend him or herself through ownership and carrying of personal weapons. Because of this, there are restrictions on types of weapons one can own and so forth. Unfortunately, this has gone too far in the direction of trampling individual rights and the collective rights of society are not served because it does not make for a safer society but, rather, makes a less safer society by ensuring a supply of defenseless victims. The flip side of that coin is we could have no laws at all and people could own heavy artillery and we end up with 1980s Beirut with rival gangs shelling one another's neighborhoods.
I didn't ask permission to hunt. I attended a hunter safety class and then purchased a license that the fees of which go to support wildlife. I'm a firm believer in paying my fair share for the animals I take from the peoples' land. (Yes, it's government land, but theoretically it belongs to the people.) One thing that can be done to stop the rising prices of license and tags is to get active in your community and stop the government subsidies being paid to corporations and sports teams to build factories and stadiums in your state. Those things have to be paid for somehow, usually by taking money away from other state programs and agencies like game and fish among others. Almost every major league sports stadium built in a community is paid for by raiding parks and recreation, schools, or other programs (like wildlife departments)for the money which is given to the sports team in subsidies. There's one place to start in making sure we're not paying in increased tag fees for someone more than able to afford paying their own way.
Topic: Privilege or right? (Read 9224 times)
