There is an old adage that says if you drop a frog into boiling water it will immediately jump out, but if you put that same frog into a pot of cool water then slowly raise the water temperature to boiling, the frog will likely be boiled.

The gist of the proverb is that we will instantly react to sudden changes around us, but if those changes come slowly and subtly, it may be too late to properly react once we notice.

House Concurrent Resolution 5008 just now starting its journey through the Kansas legislature would amend the state constitution to guarantee Kansas residents the right to hunt, fish and trap wildlife here in our state.

My first reaction was “Do we really need this?” Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want to become like the frog in the pot and eventually lose my hunting, fishing and trapping rights after years of slow and subtle attacks on those rights by the likes of PETA and the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS.)

But this is Kansas after all, and I really don’t worry much about us Kansans being out-muscled nor out-witted by that sort of thinking. I also know that federal law still trumps state law, so we can pass all the laws and resolutions we want here in KS, but if something contrary gets passed at the federal level, it’s all for naught. I could only hope that the bills co-authors Adam Lusker from Fontenac and Travis Couture-Lovelady from Palco had some reasoning in mind that I was missing.

I spoke with Rep. Lusker on the phone and here are some points they hope to make with this proposed constitutional amendment. First, they want its passage to show groups like PETA and HSUS just how seriously we Kansans value our right to hunt, fish and trap, making them think twice about trying to force their agendas here in Kansas; sort of the ounce-of-prevention-is-worth-a-pound-of-cure principle.

Secondly they want to show Kansas sportsmen and women that our state leaders take our hunting, fishing and trapping rights seriously enough to do whatever they have to do to protect them. Also by doing this they want sportsmen across the country to take notice that Kansas also wants their business as well.

If ratified by two-thirds of the house and two-thirds of the senate, House Concurrent Resolution 5008 will appear on the ballet in the next regular election year, 2016. If passed by the voters in Kansas, that should add even more teeth to its intent. I’m still not sure we need an amendment to our state constitution to guarantee our right to hunt, fish and trap here in the state of Kansas, but things take awhile to grow on me.

I have to say that the points presented to me by Rep. Lusker were very valid and thought-provoking. In the mean time, let’s all exercise those rights to the fullest and Explore Kansas Outdoors.

Steve Gilliland, Inamna, can be contacted by email at [email protected].