The U.S. Sportsmen's Alliance is a non-profit organization based in Columbus, Ohio, United States, that was formed in 1977. The Alliance defends the rights of hunters, anglers, trappers, and sport shooters. [1]
The U.S. Sportsmen's Alliance was originally known as the Wildlife Legislative Fund of America and Wildlife Conservation Fund of America and was formed in 1977 after an Ohio Ballot threatened Ohio's trapping community. The organization was officially incorporated in 1978 as The U.S. Sportsmen's Alliance. Throughout the years the Alliance has worked on numerous bills and ballot issues that deal with hunters' rights.
The U.S. Sportsmen's Alliance mostly speaks out against animal rights groups in favor of the rights of hunters, trappers, and other sports shooters.
Maine's chapter of The U.S. Sportsmen's Alliance spoke out against a proposed state park in Maine that would take away access to a large amount of public land that was used largely for recreational activities like hunting and snowmobiling. [2]
In 2004, there was a disagreement on whether or not to hold a black bear hunting season in New Jersey. The DEP Commissioner Bradley Campbell wrote a letter to Council Chair W. Scott Ellis requesting to not hold a black bear hunting season, but the season was scheduled for December 6–11, 2004. Campbell then used his authority to refuse to issue hunting licenses to hunters for black bears. The U.S. Sportsmen's Alliance filed an unsuccessful lawsuit against the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) which challenged Campbell's authority to refuse hunting licenses. [3] [4]
The U.S. Sportsmen's Alliance spoke out in favor of the Sportsmen’s Heritage And Recreational Enhancement Act of 2013 (H.R. 3590; 113th Congress). It urged members to call their representatives in Congress and ask them to vote in favor of the bill. [5] The bill is an omnibus bill that covers several firearms, fishing, hunting, and federal land laws. [6] It passed the United States House of Representatives on February 5, 2014. [7]
Families Afield was created in collaboration with the National Shooting Sports Foundation, and the National Wild Turkey Federation and works to get more involvement of women and families in hunting. The program created the "apprentice" hunting license that allows someone who has not completed hunter's safety to accompany an experienced hunter on a hunt. [8]
Outdoor Business Council is a program that was created to unite all of the outdoors businesses under one organization to help protect the rights of outdoorsmen all over the United States. [8]
Gun laws and policies, collectively referred to as firearms regulation or gun control, regulate the manufacture, sale, transfer, possession, modification, and use of small arms by civilians. Laws of some countries may afford civilians a right to keep and bear arms, and have more liberal gun laws than neighboring jurisdictions. Gun control typically restricts access to certain categories of firearms and limits the categories of persons who may be granted permission to access firearms. There may be separate licenses for hunting, sport shooting, self-defense, collecting, and concealed carry, each with different sets of requirements, privileges, and responsibilities.
The Gun Control Act of 1968 is a U.S. federal law that regulates the firearms industry and firearms ownership. Due to constitutional limitations, the Act is primarily based on regulating interstate commerce in firearms by generally prohibiting interstate firearms transfers except by manufacturers, dealers and importers licensed under a scheme set up under the Act.
Gun politics in the United States is characterized by two primary opposing ideologies regarding private firearm ownership.
Gun laws in the United States regulate the sale, possession, and use of firearms and ammunition. State laws vary considerably, and are independent of existing federal firearms laws, although they are sometimes broader or more limited in scope than the federal laws.
Indoor and outdoor shooting ranges exist throughout the United States. Tourist destinations in gun-friendly U.S. states often have rental ranges catering to domestic and international tourists.
The American Hunters and Shooters Association (AHSA) was a United States–based non-profit 501(c)(4) organization which operated from 2005 to 2010. The group described itself as a national grassroots organization for responsible gun ownership and advocated for increased gun control. The organization's president, Ray Schoenke, said the AHSA was intended to bridge the gap between urban liberals and rural gun owners, but closed down due to a lack of support from the Obama administration.
The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation (RMEF) is a conservation and pro-hunting organization, founded in the United States in 1984 by four hunters from Troy, Montana. Its mission is to ensure the future of elk, other wildlife, their habitat and American hunting heritage. In support of this mission the RMEF is committed to:
A hunting license or hunting permit is a regulatory or legal mechanism to control hunting, both commercial and recreational. A license specifically made for recreational hunting is sometimes called a game license.
The Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act of 1937, most often referred to as the Pittman–Robertson Act for its sponsors, Nevada Senator Key Pittman and Virginia Congressman Absalom Willis Robertson, is an act that imposes an 11% tax on firearms, ammunition, and archery equipment and distributes the proceeds to state governments for wildlife projects.
The Permanent Electronic Duck Stamp Act of 2013 is a bill that was passed during the 113th United States Congress. The bill authorizes the United States Department of the Interior to issue electronic duck stamps as a form of Federal Duck Stamps.
Australia has a population of about 26 million while the Commonwealth Government estimating there are 640,000 recreational hunters in the country. There are around 6 million legally owned guns in Australia, ranging from airguns to single-shot, bolt-action, pump-action, lever-action or semi-automatic firearms.
The Sportsmen’s Heritage And Recreational Enhancement Act of 2013 is an omnibus bill that covers several firearms, fishing, hunting, and federal land laws. H.R. 3590 would establish or amend certain laws related to the use of firearms and other recreational activities on federal lands. The bill also would authorize the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) to permanently allow any state to provide hunting and conservation stamps for migratory birds. In addition, the bill would require the Secretaries of the Interior and Agriculture to charge an annual permit fee for small crews that conduct commercial filming activities on certain federal lands. Finally, the bill would require the Secretary of the Interior to issue permits to certain hunters seeking to import polar bear remains from Canada.
Assault weapons legislation in the United States refers to bills and laws that define and restrict or make illegal the manufacture, transfer, and possession of assault weapons. How these firearms are defined and regulated varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction; generally, this constitutes a list of specific firearms and combinations of features on semiautomatic firearms.
A high-capacity magazine ban is a law which bans or otherwise restricts detachable firearm magazines that can hold more than a certain number of rounds of ammunition. For example, in the United States, the now-expired Federal Assault Weapons Ban of 1994 included limits regarding magazines that could hold more than ten rounds. As of 2022, twelve U.S. states, and a number of local governments, ban or regulate magazines that they have legally defined as high-capacity. The majority of states do not ban or regulate any magazines on the basis of capacity. States that do have large capacity magazine bans or restrictions typically do not apply to firearms with fixed magazines whose capacity would otherwise exceed the large capacity threshold.
A sporting camp is an establishment that provides lodging, meals and guide service for hunting, fishing, and outdoor recreation and usually consists of a set of “camps” or cabins accompanied by a main lodge. Some also offer primitive outpost cabins. Traditionally found in forests and on lakes in remote locations throughout the state of Maine, sporting camps are a popular lodging destination that have offered a unique outdoors experience to sportsmen across New England and throughout the United States for over a century.
The Bipartisan Sportsmen's Act of 2014 is a bill related to hunting, fishing, and outdoor recreation in the United States.
Maine Question 1 (MQ1), "An Act To Prohibit the Use of Dogs, Bait or Traps When Hunting Bears Except under Certain Circumstances", was a citizen-initiated referendum measure in Maine, which was voted on in the general election of November 4, 2014. As the Maine Legislature declined to act on the proposed statute, it was automatically placed on the ballot. The proposal was defeated by 320,873 "No" votes to 279,617 "Yes".
Fair chase is a term used by hunters to describe an ethical approach to hunting big game animals. North America's oldest wildlife conservation group, the Boone and Crockett Club, defines "fair chase" as requiring the targeted game animal to be wild and free-ranging. "Wild" refers to an animal that is naturally bred and lives freely in nature. "Free-ranging" means an animal that is not restrained by traps or artificial barriers, so it has a fair chance of successfully escaping from the hunt.
Maine Question 3, formally An Act to Require Background Checks for Gun Sales, was a citizen-initiated referendum question that appeared on the Maine November 8, 2016 statewide ballot. It sought to require a background check for virtually all gun transfers in Maine, with some exceptions. As the Maine Legislature and Governor Paul LePage declined to enact the proposal as written, it appeared on the ballot along with elections for President of the United States, Maine's two United States House seats, the Maine Legislature, other statewide ballot questions, and various local elections.
Duck hunting is an outdoor recreational activity practised under a permit system in the Australian state of South Australia. Hunters use shotguns and are provided with permits issued by the Department of Environment and Water. The activity is opposed by animal welfare groups who consider the practice to be unacceptably cruel.