I remember too well when the anti's got the no trapping, bear baiting, wildlife board ballot initiative passed. A lot of my outdoor buddy's never heard of the initiative until it was too late and some didn't bother to vote !
I wrote all my local rep's and even met one in person to discuss the problem (I work for local gov. and the guy holds office hrs. at the Town Hall) They all were supportive and assured me it would never make it too the ballot let alone pass. WRONG! Part of the problem with this type of thing is that the state agency (Div. of F&W in MA) cannot by law participate in the debate even if all the supposed factual info. being presented is false. There's an old "LIBERAL"political saying that would serve us very well in our battles with the anti's. "Think globally and act locally." I think we sometimes alienate ourselves from the general public who perceive us as a bunch of rednecks who like to kill things and shoot big guns. We need to convince the public that their perception of us if wrong (usually!
) because without general public support we might as well take up golf.