Delaware Committee Passes Barking Ban with Single Yes Vote
To set the stage, the Health and Human Development Committee has 15 members in total. One would think that to pass a bill out of this committee, a majority of eight "yes" votes would be required. Or, maybe when there are only 12 members present, a majority would be seven. As logical as these assumptions sound, they're not even close.
To the contrary, House Bill 378 was passed out of committee with a single "yes" vote. Yes, you read that right. One yes vote. How did this happen?
In the Delaware process, there is a third voting option called "on its merits." This is neither a vote in support (yes) or opposition (no), but instead a vote to allow a bill to proceed and move forward in a neutral way. For House Bill 378, five members of the committee voted "on its merits." These five votes, when combined with the one "yes" vote, resulted in a majority of members present and pushed the bill forward.
This all might sound amusing if not for the extreme ramifications of this legislation.
As we've reported in the past, this bill not only attacks dog owners directly, it also mandates that police departments enforce its provisions. You might ask, who is timing the 15 minutes? Great question, but there are no answers. Remember, this bill only garnered one vote in support.
While many people prefer police officers to spend their time preventing violent crime, House Bill 378 re-directs them to pull out stopwatches and respond to complaints about barking dogs. The fines for violating the legislation are $100 for a first offense, $200 for a second offense and $300 for each offense after that. This could get costly in a hurry for hunters who use dogs because the bill provides no exemptions for baying or barking during a hunt, when training, at field trials or in any other setting. Hunters who have several dogs could be targeted and cited with multiple infractions by overzealous enforcement in a single instance or repeatedly.
"The absurdity of this legislation is only matched by the absurdity of the committee to allow this to go to the House floor with negligible support from members," said Dillon Barto, manager of state services at the Sportsmen's Alliance. "This legislation is a direct attack against all dog owners in Delaware."
Delaware Sportsmen should oppose this legislation by contacting their state representative using the Sportsmen's Alliance Legislative Action Center and encouraging them to vote NO on this extreme legislation.
About the Sportsmen's Alliance: The Sportsmen's Alliance protects and defends America's wildlife conservation programs and the pursuits - hunting, fishing and trapping - that generate the money to pay for them. Sportsmen's Alliance Foundation is responsible for public education, legal defense and research. Its mission is accomplished through several distinct programs coordinated to provide the most complete defense capability possible. Stay connected to Sportsmen's Alliance: Online, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
About the Author : Sportsmens Alliance
Visit authors website | View more articlesThe Sportsmens Alliance protects and defends Americas wildlife conservation programs and the pursuits hunting, fishing and trapping that generate the money to pay for them. Sportsmens Alliance Foundation is responsible for public education, legal defense and research. Its mission is accomplished through several distinct programs coordinated to provide the most complete defense capability possible.
Related Aritlces
Upland Hunting Vest Round-up
I was on Facebook the other night and saw a post asking about recommendations for an Upland Game Vest. There were so many different brands listed, that I thought it'd be a good idea to list some of them here on Gundog Central for everyone to see, with links to where you can purchase. While researching these Upland Game Vest, I was kind of surprised at how many different ones there were available. It would be impossible for me to list them all here, so I'll stick with the ones I know or might be interested in. I won't be offering any recommendations as to which one you should or shouldn't purchase, mainly because we all have different needs and hunt different types of birds. What's good for someone hunting Quail, might not work as well for someone hunting Pheasant. You might like to travel light, where someone else might want to carry more gear. An older person will have different preferences than a younger person and people in the south would have different needs than someone hunting up north. If you would like to leave any recommendations or feedback, maybe suggest some I missed, you may do some in the comments below.
Field Trials Matter
Most scouts yawn when linemen run 40's, but not at the 2020 combine. Mekhi Becton, a 6-foot-7-inch, 364 pound offensive lineman out of Louisville ran a blistering 5.1. Heads didn't turn so much as they spun off of heads, for what current lineman of Beckton's size runs what used to be speed of yesteryear's fullback? My, my have times changed.
See You At The Dance
Arguably, the most coveted days on a bird hunter’s calendar are the ones where he or she is actually hunting. Those days are the summit of a year-long hike through the day-to-day of dog training, vet bills, hard earned paychecks, and sheer anticipation of what is to come. There are few things we would trade them for. But when seasons have come to a close and winter has laid the earth to a silent, seemingly lifeless rest, where does a bird-afflicted hunter turn to? What can be done to satiate the need for adventure that doesn’t end with the close of upland seasons?
