What John Kerry did was not hunting - it was killing
by Larry S. Moore
Of all John Kerry's flip-flops, Thursday's staged hunting trip in Ohio was certainly one of the biggest FLOPS. The effort to portray him as a "guy's guy" showed instead that John Kerry is still an elitist.
Most of us struggle somewhat to get quality private habitat to hunt. It takes sometimes years to have a relationship with a land owner for hunting access. Because of his status as a Senator and Presidential pretender he comes into a state where he knows very few people and probably no hunters or rural landowners prior to the campaign and get premium land to hunt.
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John Kerry did no homework for his hunting trip - no landowner contacts - no scouting trips - no dog training. He probably did not even buy his own camo jacket. He probably could not recite the laws governing his hunt - which means he has not read his Ohio Hunting Guide or the federal migratory bird rules.
John Kerry is portraying the exact problems with hunting that Humane Society of the Unites States and PETA protest. He is a poster boy for their objections that hunters just walk out into the fields and shoot things.
What John Kerry did is not hunting - it was killing. John Kerry did not develop landowner relations. Where were the photos of Kerry thanking the family for permitting him the opportunity to hunt on their land? Where were the photos of John Kerry asking the farmer if he needs help with any chores or offering to share some of the rewards of the hunt? Then he says he is too lazy to carry his own game!
As a hunter, I have great respect and honor for the hunt, which is the game I take. That means carrying out my game, it means properly cleaning and preserving (freezing) the meat for later dining pleasure. Beyond hunting there is always reverence for the game - otherwise you don't hunt with me. There is always a special place for the dogs (in my case beagles) as my hunting partners.
John Kerry was out of sight of the photographers and kept that way until he returned. Did he shoot his geese? To me it is unethical for someone else to shoot part of your bag limit. Depending on circumstances, it could be illegal. Did John Kerry display the respect for the land by picking up his empty shotgun shells?
John Kerry is making every photo opportunity to convenience us that he is one of the regular guys and loves to hunt. John Kerry is missing his mark with true sportsmen and women of Ohio who understand that hunting is about a lot more than waltzing into a state and killing a couple of animals in sacrifice for your political ambitions.
For me hunting is about family and friends. I hunt with my children. I am a volunteer Ohio Hunter Education instructor. I have worked hard to teach proper respect and ethics for our young people as they go out and being hunting. My daughter is featured on the front cover of the Ohio Hunter Education Manual. I have a photo when I was about 7 years old with my cousin and his beagle. He taught me about beagles and passed down a family tradition. We gather around a table of venison, rabbit or pheasant and praise God for the bounties of this land and the opportunities we have to share our hunting experiences as family. That is what true sportsmen understand.
Far from showing he is a regular guy, Kerry is showing Ohioans he just does not understand these things. His trips afield for photo opportunities are as staged and fake as when he threw someone else's medals away! John Kerry is not connecting with true sportsmen.
Larry Moore is the Ohioans For Concealed Carry PAC Senate District 10 Coordinator, and a frequently-published outdoors writer in Ohio.
UPDATE!
Cybercast News Service has taken this commentary nationwide!
Related Stories:
After staging photo-op ''hunt'', Kerry refuses to carry his own bird
Cheney mocks 'October disguise' in assailing Kerry on gun rights
Vice President Dick Cheney wasn't the one with a shotgun yesterday, but that didn't stop him from firing some political blasts at presidential hopeful John Kerry during a visit to Sylvania.
"The senator who gets a grade of 'F' from the National Rifle Association went hunting this morning."
But the new camouflage jacket that Mr. Kerry wore during his hunting trip near Youngstown was nothing more than another part of his "October disguise" to hide his record, including votes against gun owner rights, the vice president told a crowd of about 2,000.
"My fellow sportsmen, this cover-up isn't going to work because you and I know the Second Amendment is more than just a photo opportunity," he said.
Mr. Cheney said Kerry is "a man who will say and do anything if he thinks it will advance his cause."
Cartoon courtesy of Jeff Riffle
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