Begich knows issues facing state fisheries

A couple of weeks ago I had the opportunity, along with several other people, to lunch with U.S. Sen. Mark Begich and discuss the condition of our Alaska and Northern District salmon fisheries. While my personal political views are usually opposite those of the Democratic Party, I have to give Sen. Begich a lot of credit.

He was spot on in his understanding of the problems and concerns expressed by others at this meeting regarding the federal management of fisheries around Alaska. He also showed a good understanding of many state concerns, but stayed clear of any impression of possible interference with state authority or management control. Overall, I was impressed with his knowledge of the fisheries issues and his questions indicated he had a firm grasp of how to approach correcting many of those problems.

As the meeting was wrapping up, I thanked Sen. Begich for his stand in the Senate regarding Second Amendment voting issues this past spring. As you may recall, Sen. Begich was one of only a few Democratic senators who refused to vote for anti-gun actions being demanded by President Obama. All the pending legislation failed to pass. As a result of his stand, Begich has now been targeted by the anti-gun crowd in the upcoming 2014 national election.

Sen. Begich acknowledged my comments and immediately, as with the fisheries issues, went to the heart of the matter. He said that major improvements in the mandatory reporting of mentally impaired individuals to the national database for firearms background checks needs to happen, along with a major effort on improving treatment for these impaired individuals. He also stated that strict enforcement of existing firearms laws should be implemented before any new firearms legislation is introduced. I couldn’t agree more.

Now before you think this is a political ad for Sen. Begich, know that I am merely telling you why I agree with his views on a couple of issues. Let it go at that.

While we’re mentioning gun control, I’d like to alert you to some actions taken by the Obama Administration in the last week. According to a news release I received from the National Rifle Association’s Institute for Legislative Action (NRA-ILA), President Obama has issued an executive order denying any further applications by private importers to import “surplus military weapons” for sale to private individuals. This is being done under the guise of keeping military weapons “off our streets.”

“Surplus military weapons” mean rifles, pistols and shotguns, almost all of which are at least 50 years old or older (some more than 100 years old) and that are of dated or obsolete technology by today’s standards. For instance, bolt-action rifles, revolvers and pump-action shotguns. According to Fox News as stated in the release, “it is safe to assume that few (of these weapons) are used in crimes.” These same firearms are still legal to manufacture in the United States with either new or existing parts, so what benefit will be gained by this action? This is just another “feel good” attempt to restrict firearms ownership in this country.

What are some of the negatives here? Collectors of military weapons will have fewer guns to select from in building collections and the prices are going to climb accordingly. For those without a lot of money, buying an inexpensive surplus military bolt-action rifle for hunting will become increasingly difficult. Also, the ability for new shooters to become involved in many of the military-oriented shooting matches held regionally and nationally will become more difficult.

Perhaps more importantly, again quoting from the release: “More than a century ago, Congress established the National Board for the Promotion of Rifle Practice and authorized it to sell surplus military firearms to Americans interested in improving their marksmanship in support of national defense. ‘The Board,’ as it was commonly known among avid rifle shooters for decades, now exists as the Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP).”

The CMP sells surplus firearms to civilians who can prove membership in a recognized shooting club and participation in service-style shooting matches, exactly as Congress originally intended. This ban on importing surplus military firearms, if allowed to stand by Congress, would be the death knell for an institution established by Congress to aid in our nation’s defense. In this day and age, I thought we were supposed to be doing everything possible to insure our nation’s defense – what’s going on?

This is another attempt to control an object rather than punish wrong behavior.

Howard Delo is a retired fisheries biologist with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. You can leave him a message by emailing sports@frontiersman.com.