There is a public meeting on Wed. Dec 19 @ 7:30 at the George Howard Building, 3430 Court House Dr., Ellicott City, MD 21043. This is your chance to continue the prohibition of Sunday hunting in Howard County. Carroll Country had hunters show up 5 to 1 and got there way to hunt on Sundays.
Don’t let this happen in Howard County as well. Christmas can wait!
Protect your Sunday rides from bullets.
Write letters to Senators and state delegates.
SHOW UP, and bring a friend.
If you need help finding the name and contact info for your County Delegate, check here:
star, who has this session on her calendar
so is this question being addressed by the state legislature or by County govt., Shoten?
[QUOTE=Lori B;6714634]
so is this question being addressed by the state legislature or by County govt., Shoten?[/QUOTE]
Hunting laws are controlled at the State level, but individual counties have input as to what is allowed / not allowed in each county. Several of the western counties already have Sunday hunting. Howard County is divided into 3 districts, with three State Senators and 8 State Delegates; who you address your concerns to will depend on which district you are in. For more details, see:
http://msa.maryland.gov/msa/mdmanual/07leg/html/gacohow.html
Star
Difficult, because I live in Baltimore Co, but keep my horse in HoCo, as I suspect MANY Bawlmorese do. Hmmm.
[QUOTE=Lori B;6714772]
Difficult, because I live in Baltimore Co, but keep my horse in HoCo, as I suspect MANY Bawlmorese do. Hmmm.[/QUOTE]
I would pick the delegate whose district the stable is in and address comments from the perspective of someone who uses county resources regularly.
Star
hell, i live in MoCo–but ride in Howard. if i had time i’d go. have given the barn mgr a heads up about the mtg though.
It took some doing to find this link (HoCo doesn’t make some the links obvious), but here is where to go to find more information on the meeting scheduled for 19 Dec:
http://countyofhowardmd.us/statedelegation.htm
Scroll down the page to find the link / reference for the hunting legislation,
Per the website:
Sign-up sheets will be available outside of the Howard County Delegation room at 7:00pm on the evening of the hearing. Oral testimony will be limited to three minutes.
star
Folks, if you cannot attend, send emails. I board in the county, ride there and infuse thousands (over $10,000) per year into the county economy, so even though I am not a resident, I will speak up and be heard. You can too!!! Here is what was sent out to many from Barbara W. of TROT:
Dear Horse People riding in Howard County,
Today I learned that Delegate Gail Bates plans to submit a bill during the upcoming legislative session that will allow hunting on private land in Howard County on Sundays. My neighbor and riding partner, provided your contact information so I could alert you to this troubling bill. I have included in one attachment information on the public hearing scheduled by the Howard County delegation on Wednesday December 19 at 7:30 pm at the George Howard Building. This hearing will provide an opportunity for the public to comment on Delegate Bates’ bill which I have included in four other attachments.
…
Hunters already can hunt six days of the week in Howard County during hunting season. There should be one day where horse people can be assured the opportunity to ride without running the risk of encountering a stray bullet. Please work with your local riding clubs to have representatives attend the December 19 meeting to voice opposition to this bill. You may also wish to encourage riders to submit their comments to the Howard County delegation using email (HowardCo.DelegationStaff@mlis.state.md.us
<mailto:HowardCo.DelegationStaff@mlis.state.md.us>).
Thank you,
You all probably don’t care for an alternative point of view but here it goes anyway.
A) Just because there is no hunting on Sundays does not mean there is no lawful gunfire on private property on that same day. There goes the hysterical argument that “There should be one day where horse people can be assured the opportunity to ride without running the risk of encountering a stray bullet”
B) Not all hunting involves the same firearms or ammunition. Deer rifle/shotgun seasons, where the most powerful firearms are used, are typically very short in comparison to the length of all open seasons for other types of game. Most hunting through the year is done using shotguns firing birdshot (which is virtually never lethal to anything larger than a dog at very close range) or .22 caliber rimfire ammunition which is also very unlikely to kill anything larger than a groundhog at any distance closer than 50 yards.
C) Many hunting seasons involve no firearms at all.
D) My state is in the top ten most densely populated in the country and has had statewide Sunday hunting forever. Many, many miles of bridle trails share the same land as that open to hunting, and even more is in land not open to hunting but abuts that which is. Somehow horses, riders, hikers, and other non hunting outdoorsmen do not end up dead or injured and everyone gets along just fine.
Yes, we know caballero. You love guns. We all know.
I grew up in Ho. Co. Give 'em hell!
There’s nothing hysterical about wanting to not have to worry about avoiding gunfire when trailriding. As a citizen and legitimate participant in the political process, I don’t have to run my preferences past gun enthusiasts before I act on them.
Hunters get 6 days of the week. Let us keep one. Or better yet, we demand it.
Went ahead and sent my emails earlier today. Hope they help. Purpotedly this is in response to one person asking for this topic to be considered…
According to a friend who attended and testified, there were about 40 people who testified against the proposed change, 2 or 3 pro, and one PETA follower who believes that a recommendation to have the hunters shoot the deer with contraceptive darts is an infringement of the deers’ rights to reproduce.
star
Not a Marylander, but chiming in anyway
Personally, I’m with caballero on this one, both for the reasons stated and because as fellow outdoors enthusiasts we would do well to partner with hunting groups because we have more in common than not, mainly interest in protecting open space.
Most gun seasons are only a few weeks long. Think if you only had a few weeks every year to enjoy your sport. That would kind of suck, wouldn’t it? Do we have to be so selfish to insist that gun hunters not be able to enjoy their sport each of the seven days of the three or so weeks a year it’s in?
During hunting season, I wear blaze orange and try to be conspicuous.
Of course there can always be yahoos who ignore the law and common sense, but we have those in the horse world too. Perhaps not armed, but dangerous in other ways.
[QUOTE=caballero;6723652]
You all probably don’t care for an alternative point of view but here it goes anyway.
A) Just because there is no hunting on Sundays does not mean there is no lawful gunfire on private property on that same day. There goes the hysterical argument that “There should be one day where horse people can be assured the opportunity to ride without running the risk of encountering a stray bullet”
B) Not all hunting involves the same firearms or ammunition. Deer rifle/shotgun seasons, where the most powerful firearms are used, are typically very short in comparison to the length of all open seasons for other types of game. Most hunting through the year is done using shotguns firing birdshot (which is virtually never lethal to anything larger than a dog at very close range) or .22 caliber rimfire ammunition which is also very unlikely to kill anything larger than a groundhog at any distance closer than 50 yards.
C) Many hunting seasons involve no firearms at all.
D) My state is in the top ten most densely populated in the country and has had statewide Sunday hunting forever. Many, many miles of bridle trails share the same land as that open to hunting, and even more is in land not open to hunting but abuts that which is. Somehow horses, riders, hikers, and other non hunting outdoorsmen do not end up dead or injured and everyone gets along just fine.[/QUOTE]
jetjocky, we. don’t. care. we aren’t trying to prevent every possible thing going wrong, we are just saying, please don’t have people who are looking for a brown hoofed 4 legged animal to shoot in the woods at the same time that I am wandering in the woods on a brown. hoofed. animal. Can you see how some of us would regard this as less than ideal?
I trail ride in bright colors (hot pink!). I go out with people who have bells on their horses. But still, it would be, frankly, more pleasant and relaxing not to hear the crack of gunshot not very far away.
I know that, as a gun enthusiast, condescending to non-gun-enthusiasts is as much fun as you can have with your clothes on. But no. Just “No”. Learn to understand what it feels like to be told “No.”
jetjockey, never mind it.
Not a gun enthusiast, actually
I ride a 13.1 hand chestnut pony and during hunting season I wear blaze orange and keep to open spaces. If anyone would be a target, it would be us. You can call me stupid, but I just think that horsefolk would do well to make as many alliances as possible and hunters are one.
Sorry you see this as condescending, but I think we’re much better off making friends than enemies. We can all co-exist if we try. I’ve been to users’ group meetings for national forest use plans, and getting to know folks with other interests in the forest/public lands builds bridges. We need those.
[QUOTE=Lori B;6732843]
jetjocky, we. don’t. care. we aren’t trying to prevent every possible thing going wrong, we are just saying, please don’t have people who are looking for a brown hoofed 4 legged animal to shoot in the woods at the same time that I am wandering in the woods on a brown. hoofed. animal. Can you see how some of us would regard this as less than ideal?
I trail ride in bright colors (hot pink!). I go out with people who have bells on their horses. But still, it would be, frankly, more pleasant and relaxing not to hear the crack of gunshot not very far away.
I know that, as a gun enthusiast, condescending to non-gun-enthusiasts is as much fun as you can have with your clothes on. But no. Just “No”. Learn to understand what it feels like to be told “No.”[/QUOTE]
But see, jetjocky, I think it’s totally insane that asking hunters not to shoot on one damned day of the week is perceived as a call to enmity and hatred. I am fine w/ law abiding hunters, I totally get how critical their support for maintaining open spaces is. But I really don’t accept the idea that wanting to spend time shooting at things trumps all other human activities. Remember 2nd grade? Taking turns? Sharing? This is what non-hunting users of outdoor spaces are asking for.
Obviously we see things very differently
No one said that it was a call to enmity and hatred. Your point about sharing is my point exactly. Since the gun hunting season is so short and horsepeople can enjoy their sports all year long, why can’t we be more generous? It’s only three weeks or so.
Also, I can’t think of a single responsible hunter I know who thinks that “shooting at things trumps all other human activities.”
[QUOTE=Lori B;6733490]
But see, jetjocky, I think it’s totally insane that asking hunters not to shoot on one damned day of the week is perceived as a call to enmity and hatred. I am fine w/ law abiding hunters, I totally get how critical their support for maintaining open spaces is. But I really don’t accept the idea that wanting to spend time shooting at things trumps all other human activities. Remember 2nd grade? Taking turns? Sharing? This is what non-hunting users of outdoor spaces are asking for.[/QUOTE]
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