Alabama Right to Hunt and Fish, Amendment 5 (2014)

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Amendment 5
Flag of Alabama.png
TypeConstitutional amendment
OriginAlabama State Legislature
TopicHunting and fishing
StatusApproved Approveda
2014 measures
Seal of Alabama.png
July 15
Amendment 1 Approveda
November 4
Amendment 1 Approveda
Amendment 2 Approveda
Amendment 3 Approveda
Amendment 4 Approveda
Amendment 5 Approveda
Endorsements • Full text
Polls

The Alabama Right to Hunt and Fish, Amendment 5 was on the November 4, 2014 ballot in Alabama as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment, where it was approved.

The measure was designed to "clarify that the people have the right to hunt, fish, and harvest wildlife subject to reasonable regulations that promote conservation and management of fish and wildlife and preserve the future of hunting and fishing."[1] The measure was known in the Alabama Legislature as House Bill 322.[2]

With Amendment 5's approval, it became the 892nd amendment to the 1901 version of the Alabama Constitution.[3]

Election results

Below are the official, certified election results:

Alabama Amendment 5
ResultVotesPercentage
Approveda Yes 789,777 79.84%
No199,48320.16%

Election results via: Alabama Secretary of State

Text of measure

Ballot title

The official ballot title of this measure appeared as follows:[4]

“
Statewide Amendment 5

Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of Alabama of 1901, to amend Amendment 597, now appearing as Section 36.02 of the Official Recompilation of the Constitution of Alabama of 1901, as amended, to clarify that the people have the right to hunt, fish, and harvest wildlife subject to reasonable regulations that promote conservation and management of fish and wildlife and preserve the future of hunting and fishing. (Proposed by Act 2014-286)

Yes ( )
No ( )
[5] 		”

Ballot summary

The full ballot summary was as follows:[6]

“ Amendment 5 proposes an amendment known as the “Sportsperson’s Bill of Rights.”

If Amendment 5 IS PASSED, it would clarify that the people of Alabama have the right to hunt, fish and harvest wildlife, including the use of traditional methods. This right would be subject to reasonable regulations to conserve wildlife and preserve the future of hunting and fishing. Amendment 5 would not affect current laws relating to eminent domain, trespass, or property rights. It would also make hunting and fishing by the public the preferred means of managing and controlling wildlife in Alabama.

If Amendment 5 IS DEFEATED, the people of Alabama would still have the right to hunt and fish using traditional methods, but that right may be limited by existing or future laws and regulations. Also, the State Constitution would not state that hunting and fishing by the public is the preferred means of managing and controlling wildlife in Alabama.

No source of funding is required for this law.

The measure will have no impact on taxes.

The Constitutional authority for passage of this Amendment is set forth in Sections 284, 285, and 287 of the Constitution of Alabama of 1901. These sections outline the way a constitutional amendment may be put to the people of the State for a vote. [5]

”

Constitutional changes

Alabama Constitution
Seal of Alabama.png
Preamble
Articles
I • II • III • IV • V • VI • VII • VIII • IX • X • XI •XII •XIII •XIV • XV • XVI • XVII • XVIII
Local Provisions

Amendment 5 amended Amendment 597 of the Alabama Constitution to read as follows, with the underlined text added and the stricken text eliminated:[2]

"(a) All persons shall have the right to hunt and fish in this state in accordance with law and regulations. The people have a right to hunt, fish, and harvest wildlife, including by the use of traditional methods, subject to reasonable regulations, to promote wildlife conservation and management, and to preserve the future of hunting and fishing. Public hunting and fishing Hunting by the public and fishing by the public shall be the preferred means of managing and controlling wildlife. This amendment shall not be construed to modify any provision of law relating to eminent domain, trespass, or property rights.

"(b) This amendment shall be known as the "Sportsperson's Bill of Rights.""[5]

Support

Organizations

  • National Rifle Association Political Victory Fund (NRA-PVF)[7]

Arguments

The National Rifle Association Political Victory Fund (NRA-PVF) supported Amendment 5. Chris W. Cox, chairman of the NRA-PVF, issued a statement endorsing Amendment 5 and Amendment 3, saying,

“ Amendment 5 would protect Alabama's hunting traditions from well-funded extremist groups that seek to ban hunting. These amendments are critical to protect the constitutional freedoms of law-abiding gun owners and sportsmen in Alabama. On behalf of the NRA’s five million members, the NRA-PVF is proud to endorse Statewide Ballot Amendments 3 and 5. I urge all Alabama NRA members, gun owners and sportsmen to vote ‘Yes’ on Amendments 3 and 5 on November 4.[5] ”
—Chris W. Cox[7]

HB 322 "Yes" votes

The following Alabama legislators voted in favor of putting Amendment 5 on the ballot:[8][9]

Note: A yes vote on HB 322 merely referred the question to voters and did not necessarily mean these legislators approved of the stipulations laid out in Amendment 5.

Senate

House

Opposition

HB 322 "No" votes

The following state legislators voted against placing HB 322 on the ballot:[8][9]

Note: A no vote on HB 322 meant that a legislator did not want to refer the question to voters and did not necessarily mean these legislators disapproved of the stipulations laid out in Amendment 5.

Senate

House

Media editorial positions

See also: Endorsements of Alabama ballot measures, 2014

Opposition

  • The Dothan Eagle said,
“ Alabamians can hunt and fish in accordance with state laws and regulations now, in the absence of a constitutional amendment.

Our recommendation: Vote no.[5]

”
—Dothan Eagle[10]
  • The Montgomery Advertiser said,
“ Amendments 1, 3 and 5 represent the worst sort of political game playing and should be roundly rejected by voters...Amendment 5 states that Alabamians have the right to hunt and fish, subject to conservation regulations. If that sounds familiar, it's because the constitution already says "All persons shall have the right to hunt and fish in this state in accordance with law and regulations."

These three amendments address non-issues. They add nothing to the rights of Alabamians or to the common good of our state. May we see a wave of "No" votes on Amendments 1, 3 and 5.[5]

”
—Montgomery Advertiser[11]
  • The Gadsden Times said,
“ A threat must exist that we didn’t know about. Amendment 5 would clarify that Alabama citizens have the right to hunt, fish and harvest wildlife, subject to reasonable regulations. Given that the Alabama Constitution already contains a Sportsperson’s Bill of Rights and there’s no known movement to ban hunting in the state, this amendment reeks of being nothing more than political pandering. It should be shot down.[5] ”
—Gadsden Times[12]

Path to the ballot

See also: Amending the Alabama Constitution

According to Article 18 of the Alabama Constitution, both houses of the Alabama State Legislature were required to pass the bill by a three-fifths or 60 percent vote, in order to send it to the statewide election ballot. Since the amendment was approved by a simple majority of the electorate, it became part of the constitution.[13]

The Alabama House approved HB 322 on March 13, 2014, by a vote of 90 to 2. The Senate followed suit on April 3, 2014, with a vote of 32 to 1.[13]

House vote

March 13, 2014 House vote

Alabama HB 322 House vote
ResultVotesPercentage
Approveda Yes 90 97.83%
No22.17%

Senate vote

April 3, 2014 Senate vote

Alabama HB 322 Senate vote
ResultVotesPercentage
Approveda Yes 32 96.97%
No13.03%

See also

Additional reading

External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Alabama Secretary of State, "Draft: PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO APPEAR ON THE BALLOT IN THE 2014 GENERAL ELECTION NOT OFFICIAL – SUBJECT TO CORRECTION," accessed August 7, 2014
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Alabama Legislature, "HB 322 full text," accessed October 9, 2014
  3. ↑ 1901 Alabama Constitution
  4. ↑ Alabama Secretary of State, "PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO APPEAR ON THE BALLOT STATEWIDE," accessed September 8, 2014
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source. Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "quotedisclaimer" defined multiple times with different content Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "quotedisclaimer" defined multiple times with different content Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "quotedisclaimer" defined multiple times with different content Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "quotedisclaimer" defined multiple times with different content Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "quotedisclaimer" defined multiple times with different content
  6. ↑ Alabama State Legislature Fair Ballot Commission, "2013-2014 Statewide Constitutional Amendments Ballot Statements," accessed September 8, 2014
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 NRA-PVF, "NRA Endorses Pro-Gun and Pro-Hunting Statewide Ballot Amendments in Alabama," September 25, 2014
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 OpenStates.org, "Senate Vote on HB 322 (Apr 3, 2014)," accessed October 11, 2014
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 OpenStates.org, "House Vote on HB 322 (Mar 13, 2014)," accessed October 11, 2014
  10. ↑ Dothan Eagle, "Our view: Most amendment ballot measures are unnecessary," November 2, 2014
  11. ↑ Montgomery Advertiser, "Only two amendments deserve passing," October 17, 2014
  12. ↑ Gadsden Times, "Our view: Only one amendment should pass," November 1, 2014
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 OpenStates.org, "Alabama 2013 Regular Session: HB 322," accessed August 7, 2014
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