More introduced legislation, bear baiting and a gun show

I guess you can say I’m on a roll at the moment. Or to be more accurate, the Alaska Legislature is on a roll. For the last couple of weeks, I’ve talked about pending legislation which could be detrimental to Alaskan gun owners, depending on the wording of the respective bills.

Two weeks ago, I mentioned a “red flag” law which had been introduced in the state house (HB89). This bill, if passed, would trample individual rights specified in at least three amendments to the US Constitution and a few more places in the state constitution. This scores as a “bad” piece of legislation. The intent is for public safety, but writing legislation to accomplish the stated goal of the bill is impossible without violating individual rights and freedoms protected in the Constitution.

Last week, I mentioned HB134 which would require “proper” storage of firearms and ammunition in your home or business under threat of mandatory fines and possible imprisonment if done incorrectly. I haven’t found a description of what “proper storage” encompasses in this bill. This is another well-meaning piece of legislation with potential for abuse depending on what the storage requirements are.

The ideal would be a firearms safe for both fire protection and to make sure only those folks with the owner’s permission have access to the firearms and ammunition being stored under lock and key. However, not everyone can afford a safe or even have a place to locate it in their home. A further complication involves keeping a loaded firearm readily available for personal and property protection. This isn’t necessarily a bad piece of legislation, keeping in mind that “the devil is in the details.”

Now we get to the most current firearms legislation being introduced in the Alaska Legislature. This past week, Senate Bill 136 (SB136) and House Bill 143 (HB143), companion bills to prevent the use of firearm-specific payment processing information, were introduced in the legislature. Senator Mike Cronk and Representative Cathy Tilton, respectively, took the lead on this critical protection for gun owners' privacy.

SB136 and HB143 prohibit the use of firearm and ammunition specific Merchant Category Codes, which could be used to track firearm and ammunition purchases and create a registry of lawful gun and ammunition buyers. This is an important protection for gun owners, protecting private purchasing data from abuse by third parties. Nineteen states have adopted similar legislation.

Merchant category codes were a topic of conversation during the Biden Administration as a way for the anti-gun crowd to track firearms purchases and to “harass” firearms dealers and manufacturers in their financial dealings. In some cases, financial institutions were threatened with loss of federal support if they continued dealing with businesses in the firearms industry. From a gun owner’s perspective, these bills are “good” legislation.

If you’re thinking of doing some bear baiting this spring, listen up. Bear bait stations may be registered 15 days prior to the start of the season. Again, this spring, hunters may register bait sites by phone or in person at local Fish and Game offices. If registering by phone, hunters will be emailed or mailed the permit and signs to use bait to take bears. The signs are required to be posted at your station when you go into the field, so plan accordingly.

Hunters should call the office nearest to the location they intend to bait, and when registering bait stations must verbally agree to the conditions of the permit. You may not place bait at your site until the season is open and you have received your permit. For more information on using bait or scent lures to take bears please see pages 26 and 27 of the 2024-2025 Alaska Hunting Regulations.

And a recent court ruling declared ADF&G’s bear and wolf predator control program for the Mulchatna caribou herd (MCH) unconstitutional. The Division of Wildlife Conservation petitioned the Alaska Board of Game (BOG) to create emergency regulations that will allow the department to conduct intensive management to benefit the Mulchatna caribou herd.

The department is specifically asking for regulations to reinstate both same day airborne permittee wolf removal, and department-led bear and wolf removal efforts. Department-led efforts have resulted in positive growth in herd abundance and improved calf-to-cow ratios while not impacting the sustainability of regional wolf or bear populations. It is critical for the continued recovery of the herd to continue predator control efforts.

Finally, if I heard correctly, there’s a gun show in Raven Hall this coming weekend.