Voters in Texas will decide today whether to amend the state constitution to specify “the right to hunt, fish and harvest wildlife, including by use of traditional means,” subject to game laws. The proposed amendment, Proposition 6, also says, “Hunting and fishing are the preferred methods of managing and controlling wildlife.”
State Sen. Brandon Creighton, the sponsor of the amendment, said “our Texas heritage is threatened and needs protection,” a sidelong reference to environmental and animal-rights groups. Gov. Greg Abbott has spoken in support of the amendment. The Houston Chronicle said in an editorial opposing the amendment that it is “essentially a paean to the ‘black helicopter’ crowd that’s eager to harry and harass legitimate conservation efforts in Texas.”
Eighteen states have similar amendments that guarantee the right to hunt and fish, the most recent was enacted in 2014 in Mississippi. Indiana will vote on a hunting and fishing amendment in 2016. The Dallas Morning News says the Texas Constitution has been amended 484 times since it was adopted in 1876. The last time a proposed amendment was defeated was 2011, when three of 10 proposals were rejected, says the newspaper.