Media Coverage - Proposal 3: A 'No' to the Dove-Season Law
Proposal 3: A 'No' to the Dove-Season Law
Published October 8, 2006. Editorial. Jackson Citizen Patriot.
There may be a voter or two who doesn't yet know whether to vote "yes" or "no" to a Michigan dove-hunting season. The issue has split the state into dove protectors and hunters. It's a battle over who gets the last word on an issue decided once by the Legislature.
Proposal 3 is a referendum. That's a constitutional provision under which the people retain the power to approve or reject laws enacted by lawmakers. In this case, the Legislature enacted Public Act 160 of 2004 that allowed the hunting of Mourning Doves.
The initial dove-hunting season, Sept. 10 to Oct. 30, 2004, accomplished two things: It energized hunters, nearly 5,000 of whom bought dove stamps and thought they had finally triumphed. The same event also prompted lovers of the gentle songbird to mount a petition drive. The first dove hunt had introduced a three-year trial period. But petitioners got enough signatures to call a referendum. That suspended the scheduled 2005 and 2006 dove seasons and left it to voters to decide the issue on Nov. 7, 2006.
The issue is simple: Do you want to affirm the Legislature's law or quash it? A "yes" vote approves the law and the dove season; a "no" vote rejects the law and continues the ban on dove hunting in Michigan.
Proponents have a strong case. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service puts the annual migratory population of doves at more than 400 million. About 22.7 million doves, or 6 percent of the U.S. estimated dove population, were harvested in 2005. There is little chance that the dove populace will be depleted.
However, that is beside the point. This is a referendum. Whatever your rationale -- fact-based or subjective -- do you want to permit dove hunting, or not?
The Citizen Patriot has consistently sided with those who argue that the dove enjoys a privileged status as songbird and "Bird of Peace." Therefore, we advocate a "no" vote on Proposal 3 -- that is, "no" to the law that permitted dove hunting.
THE JACKSON CITIZEN PATRIOT
