LAW ENFORCEMENT’S OPPOSITION TO AB 711 CONTINUES TO GROW

ON OCTOBER 4, 2013. POSTED IN AB 711, LATEST NEWS

Law enforcement’s opposition to Assembly Bill (AB) 711 continues to grow.  Last week, HuntForTruth.org noted that the Sheriffs for Riverside County and for Fresno County had publically voiced their positions against AB 711.  This week, yet another sheriff for a heavily populated county, this time Sacramento County, has stood up for hunters and law enforcement to question this ill-conceived bill.  And no less important is the California Fish & Game Wardens’ Association (the “Game Wardens”) opposition to AB 711, which was formally announced this week.   

AB 711, if passed, would ban taking game or non-game animals with traditional, lead-based ammunition. The alternatives for hunters if AB 711 is enacted seem to be either: the use of so-called “non-toxic” ammunition, which may be classified as illegal and “armor piercing[,]” or not hunting at all, at least not in California.  The later, of course, being a previously expressed goal of Wayne Purcell, the president of the Humane Society of the United States (“HSUS”).  HSUS is a main supporter of AB 711.    

Fresno County Sheriff Margaret Mims opposes AB 711, and earlier this month she sent a letter to Governor Jerry Brown requesting that he veto this bill.  Sheriff Mims does not hide her opinion that she sees AB 711 as “gun control by ammunition control.”  Her letter reminds the Governor of the potential financial impacts of AB 711, and that much of the so-called “non-toxic” ammunition AB 711 proponents tout as safe is currently considered “armor piercing” under federal law.  

In a letter sent by Sacramento County Sheriff Scott R. Jones to the Governor this week, Sheriff Jones reminded the Governor that the federal government has had years to resolve concerns about whether “non-toxic” ammunition should be classified as “armor piercing,” yet many “non-toxic” rounds may be illegal under federal law.  Poignantly, Sheriff Jones commented that “any discussion regarding state regulation of ammunition composition should occur with law enforcement participating . . . .”  That anti-lead ammunition advocates seemed to have ignored law enforcement in this discussion suggest that AB 711’s supporters have not really thought through the real world effects of the legislation they are pushing.  

The Game Wardens also wrote a letter to the Governor this week, informing him that the Game Wardens’ Board is unanimously against AB 711.  The Game Wardens, who are literally on the front lines of the issue, have sent a clear message to the Governor that “there is insufficient data” to justify the “drastic” action being proposed, i.e., a statewide ban on hunters’ use of lead-based ammunition.  It is telling that the Game Wardens, who likely know the relevant aspects of the debate better than any other group, oppose AB 711.  

With law enforcement opposition to AB 711 getting stronger every day, there is still reason to believe that the Governor will determine that AB 711 has not been sufficiently vetted, and that he should veto it so that the California Fish & Game Commission can further study the issue through its recently created, stakeholder-comprised, lead working group.