but if they vote for people who would LIMIT our Freedoms (second amendment, especially) then they need to be called out on it.

most times, those who vote for Progressives "justify" their vote to their Sportsmen "brothers" by saying some version of "well, they'll NEVER get THAT (gun control) passed."

so Progressives get voted in and they pursue the very policies they SAID they'd pursue; and they get another half loaf of their Control Bread....

BUT...they didn't outright confiscate guns, so the trappers who voted for them can say..."see, I TOLD you"; and they'll continue to vote for their own destruction.

Maybe we should also tolerate political differences amongst ourselves and other trappers, hunters, and shooters. If they support trapping, shooting, and hunting, they ought to be considered allies in the fight against the antis, regardless of their positions on other issues.

Insisting on lockstep political correctness is a surefire way to be divisive. Plays right into the antis' hands.

Jim

I'm not looking to argue with you James,but I notice you back away from admitting which party is responsible for the trouble we have to respond to,organize for,and try to raise money so we can hang on to our rights and traditions.

Both parties are responsible. Although, the left is more aggressive than the right at taking our second amendment rights. Both parties are about power and control, they both should be giving the freedom and choices back to the people.

Go back and look at the example I gave on the anti trap bill in the mid -80's.117 to 3.What because 3 Republicans voted for it we can blame the whole party as equally as the Democrats?Hardly.I do not belong to the GOP,I do not march lock step with them on issues just because their the GOP,as a matter of fact,I'd keep a close eye on them on these issues nowdays because in the spirit of bipartisanship I can see them throwing the Dems a few bones every now and then on issues they don't deem really important,and in the mean time scoring points with the soccer mom crowd,which could very well mean throwing us under the bus.But to date,they;ve been far more receptive and easy to work with than the Dems,many of whom anymore come from inner cities and have absolutely no concept of what we do and don't care.

Would this be like having two cakes. One with pretty frosting and the other has a better cake formula.

So you scrape the frosting off the one and put on the other.

I don't think it works that way.

The parties are what they and you are either eating one or the other.

Fellas, I understand the political banter but I see this thread as a wake up call that we as trappers need to get our own house in order. When less than 15% of all trappers belong to an organized trapping association, how can we possibly expect our wildlife departments and our politicians to take us seriously.

If you are not a member of a trappers organization, who in the world do you think is going to stand up and fight to for you? In the world we live in today, the folks that scream the loudest get the most attention. Trappers are a small percentage of the overall population and that percentage is constantly shrinking. We need to stick together and promote what we do or we will surely lose the privilege to continue to do it.

Look at how many states have already lost the ability to use the tools that work the best. And look at the states that are currently engaged in battles with groups that want to further limit what we can do as trappers.

Make no mistake about it, the antis want all trapping, hunting and fishing stopped and they are working toward those goals every day.

Keep sitting on the sidelines expecting someone else to fight your battles and you will surely be the one that wonders what happened when you can no longer trap.

Get off your butt and do something yourself instead of expecting someone else to do it for you!

IMO...Exactly why the political angle is the most important. I do agree that we all band together and I do belong to several pro trapping organizations. However all of the states that are having all of these infringements on our 2a rights and outdoor heritage sports, are controlled by the democratic party. Time for everyone that hunts, traps and owns firearms to wake up and vote for the people that protect their rights to do so. Voters are the ones that control who is in the position to make and change the law. Voting for people that want to take those rights away from us seems very counterproductive. If we got all the democratic sportsmen to lean the other way, maybe it could make a difference. Joining all of the pro trapping and hunting organizations that exist, will not help our cause unless we elect people that actually stand by us on these issues.