Loophole LaRue, SASS #51438 Posted July 7, 2017 Share Posted July 7, 2017 Gun owners struggle to find friends and allies in the MA State bureaucracy. We have an AG who banned the sale of most black rifles with a swish of her pen, and who I do not doubt would confiscate the rest if she thought she could get away with it. We have extreme restrictions on the sale of most handguns, a 10 round mag limit, and an attitude of demeaning superiority from most government decision makers and enforcement agencies. Even though we have a Republican governor, he has been no great friend of the shooting sports or legal gun ownership. Today, however, the Governor appointed the President of the Gun Owners' Action League (GOAL) - the MA affiliate of the NRA - as Commissioner of the Department of Fish and Game - the folks who regulate all hunting, fishing and trapping in the state. For folks like us, the irony is incredible; the new Commissioner, in his old job, is a named plaintiff in a lawsuit against the AG, challenging her right to ban the sale of AR15s/AK47s and other supposed "assault rifles". For the first time in my memory, we have someone calling the shots who IS a hunter and outdoorsman; who understands firearms and ammunition; and who does not view his mandate as a license to restrict our outdoor sporting opportunities until they become unrecognizable. Time will tell, but this may be the brightest moment in recent history for MA shooters. LL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hardpan Curmudgeon SASS #8967 Posted July 7, 2017 Share Posted July 7, 2017 Good on Massachusetts!! Sure wish something like that would happen in my state... but I suspect Satan would be shopping for snowshoes before that would ever come about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loophole LaRue, SASS #51438 Posted July 7, 2017 Author Share Posted July 7, 2017 6 minutes ago, Hardpan Curmudgeon SASS #8967 said: Good on Massachusetts!! Sure wish something like that would happen in my state... but I suspect Satan would be shopping for snowshoes before that would ever come about. HP: You've had some decent news in the last couple of weeks, no? https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/california/articles/2017-06-30/californias-gun-control-efforts-suffer-2-legal-setbacks LL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hardpan Curmudgeon SASS #8967 Posted July 7, 2017 Share Posted July 7, 2017 We have, but certainly not from the Guv's office. As with what I suspect most states practice, our Fish, Game, and Wildlife commissioners are all appointees of the governor's. And as such are seldom hunters or sportsmen - although of the current five-member commission, one is a "sailor, hunter, and backpacker" and a second is "an avid outdoorsman," however that may be defined in this instance. You may recall the firestorm in the press about five years ago when the then-president of the commission killed a mountain lion. Which is not legal in California. But quite legal in Idaho, where he took the cat. Some forty state legislators of the "D" persuasion called for his ouster, and accused him of "flagrantly skirting the will of California voters." The man - who had been appointed by the last "R" governor - was virtually pilloried by the press and in every manner of public forum, with a good deal of the hostility spilling over on to the hunting community in general. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loophole LaRue, SASS #51438 Posted July 7, 2017 Author Share Posted July 7, 2017 10 minutes ago, Hardpan Curmudgeon SASS #8967 said: We have, but certainly not from the Guv's office. As with what I suspect most states practice, our Fish, Game, and Wildlife commissioners are all appointees of the governor's. And as such are seldom hunters or sportsmen - although of the current five-member commission, one is a "sailor, hunter, and backpacker" and a second is "an avid outdoorsman," however that may be defined in this instance. You may recall the firestorm in the press about five years ago when the then-president of the commission killed a mountain lion. Which is not legal in California. But quite legal in Idaho, where he took the cat. Some forty state legislators of the "D" persuasion called for his ouster, and accused him of "flagrantly skirting the will of California voters." The man - who had been appointed by the last "R" governor - was virtually pilloried by the press and in every manner of public forum, with a good deal of the hostility spilling over on to the hunting community in general. Probably the same folks that would scream for the National Guard if a mountain lion grabbed their pet cat.... LL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sedalia Dave Posted July 7, 2017 Share Posted July 7, 2017 56 minutes ago, Loophole LaRue, SASS #51438 said: Probably the same folks that would scream for the National Guard if a mountain lion grabbed their pet cat.... LL Exactly what I was just going to post. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Utah Bob #35998 Posted July 7, 2017 Share Posted July 7, 2017 Well....lets not heap too much praise upon the gov of mass. It's a good thing he did. That's one in a row. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tennessee Trapper Tom Posted July 7, 2017 Share Posted July 7, 2017 Let's hope that is a step in the right direction on a path to more firearms freedom for our fellow Americans in MA. Thanks for the news LL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.