Prop 109: Make hunting, fishing, and harvesting of wildlife and Arizona Constitutional right.

I'm 80% supportive, I encourage a YES vote.

What it does
o Grants a right to hunt, fish, and trap lawfully.
o Preserves ability to restrict these things as necessary.
o Declares hunting and fishing to be the preferred means of controlling wildlife.
o Currently, the mission of the Game and Fish Department is to "conserve, enhance, and restore Arizona's diverse wildlife resources and habitats," and managing hunting and fishing is a key responsibility for the agency. Prop. 109 would limit the department's authority by making lawful hunting and fishing the preferred method of controlling and managing wildlife.
o By making this a Con right, it would take more signatures to change it as opposed to a mere law.
o Legislature referred to the ballot.
o To fight hunting restrictions, the National Rifle Association has led a campaign to include the right to hunt in state constitutions nationwide.
o The NRA created the language used to craft Prop. 109.
o No major restrictions on hunting have been approved since voters authorized a 1994 ban on the use of leg-hole traps on public lands.
o In 2000, Arizonans rejected a measure that would have made it more difficult to pass voter initiatives related to hunting.

For
o Do Americans have a fundamental right to hunt, trap, and fish?
o Or is it a privilege granted by other citizens?
o Animal rights activists and others are continually threatening this basic right.
o Humane Society president said he would like to shut down all sport hunting if he could.
o Hunters and fishers are entitled to more say in how state handles wildlife since their licensing fees are the primary source of funding for the Game and Fish Department
o Limits future changes to hunting and fishing activities by voter initiatives.
o It ought to be very hard to violate the right to hunt and fish.
o Supporters
--Yuma Valley Rod and Gun Club,
--Gov. Jan Brewer,
--National Rifle Association,
--Arizona Sportsmen for Wildlife and
--Arizona Desert Bighorn Sheep Society.

Against
o Too narrowly emphatic about hunting as the control mechanism for wildlife.
o Wildlife is held in trust by the state, this grants too much power to individuals who may not have best interests of the state in mind.
o Costly lawsuits against current normal restrictions.
o Vague language (unreasonable, traditional)
o Opponents
--Humane Society of the United States,
--Animal Defense League of Arizona and the
--Sierra Club Grand Canyon Chapter

Questions
o How dire of a threat is this, and how much of an actual change in current practice would this be?
o This would make us the 13th state to approve such a right.
o Tennessee, SC, and Ark are voting on it this year.