A bill that would have banned hunters from using lead shot on state wildlife areas has been killed in committee. Assembly Bill 2223 was defeated by a 4-3 vote in the Senate Natural Resources Committee on June 29, 2010. There are 667,000 acres in the Department of Fish and Game-managed network of wildlife areas, including a handful in the north state. At most of the state's wildlife areas, including a handful in the north state, hunters are currently allowed to use lead shot to hunt small game like rabbit, quail, turkey, dove and pheasant.
The bill had passed the state Assembly last month on a party-line vote with Assembly Republicans like Jim Nielsen, R-Gerber, voting against it and Democrats like Wesley Chesbro, D-Arcata, voting for it. It was then sent to the Senate, and was first heard in the Senate committee on June 22, 2010. It failed to get enough votes to get out of committee at that time, but was granted reconsideration by Chairwoman Fran Pavley (D-Santa Monica) and so came back before the committee on June 29.
NRA and CRPA opposed the bill in the Assembly, and presented evidence against the bill. SEE TALKING POINTS HERE. NRA/CRPA lawyers also submitted a letter to the Committee Record expressing opposition to AB 2223. SEE LETTER HERE. A number of other hunting and self-defense civil rights groups also opposed the bill.
Assemblyman Pedro Nava (D-Santa Barbara) authored the bill. Nava argued that research showed both wetland and upland birds will ingest spent lead shot, creating the potential for negative effects on those bird populations. Nava is being forced out of office by term limits this year, so the bill will need a new author if it were to be reintroduced in the next legislative session.
Nava and other proponents of lead ammo bans have used flawed logic and manipulated studies to advance their claims. Proponents claim that predatory animals consume lead pellets when eating downed game that has been shot but lost by hunters. Proponents also cited to a purported relationship between traditional lead ammunition and lead poisoning in California condors as justification to pass AB 2223.
This alleged relationship between lead ammo and condor poisoning was a driving factor in the passage of AB 821 in 2007, which banned the use of lead in the condor range.
But since at least 2003, the National Rifle Association (NRA) and the California Rifle and Pistol Association (CRPA) have raised legitimate and serious questions about the purported relationship between the use of traditional lead ammunition and lead poisoning in California condors.
Since the passage of AB 821, the NRA has engaged the expertise of the environmental and civil rights law firm of Michel & Associates, along with reputable scientists, experts, and a group of volunteers. NRA's team began the long and arduous process of obtaining and analyzing tens of thousands of pages of public records concerning the condor, including raw data and internal documents not previously obtained or reviewed by independent analysts or the public at large.
The NRA, CRPA, and like-minded wildlife and natural resource conservation groups continue to review various regulatory threats to the hunting and shooting traditions. Where the science leads to a wise management conclusion, NRA supports wildlife managers in their efforts to conserve our natural and wildlife resources. But where the science is faulty, politically biased, distorted or unsupportable, the NRA continues to work tirelessly to expose the truth.
The efforts to stop these types of lead ammo bans are being funded in part by the NRA / CRPA Foundation Legal Action Project (LAP). LAP is a joint venture between the Nation Rifle Association (NRA) and the California Rifle and Pistol Association (CRPA) to advance the rights of firearms owners in California. Through LAP, NRA/CRPA attorneys fight against ill-conceived gun control laws and ordinances, educate state and local officials about available programs that are effective in reducing accidents and violence without infringing on the rights of law-abiding gun owners, and produce valid science about game and wildlife resource management. Sometimes our chances of success are greater when we keep our litigation efforts low profile. But to see a partial list of the Legal Action Project's recent accomplishments, click here. To contribute to the NRA/CRPAF Legal Action Project (LAP) and support this and similar Second Amendment cases, visit http://www.crpafoundation.com/.
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