No one said most politicians are the sharpest knives in the block though being dull-witted at legislating ought not be the goal of a representative, either, as we shall see.
Yet having an incredibly dull edge on intelligence is exactly what some 53 U.S. House members – among them being Ohio Rep. Warren Davidson (R-18) – are inflicted with as they work to dismantle the world’s most prestigious and successful wildlife management financing systems.
Oh, and providing millions in dollars for both hunter education and the building of shooting ranges.
Thus, the 53 House members are doing the devil’s own work, the legislators aiding and abetting the agendas of both the animal rightists and the gun-control lobby.
What these 53 House members have done is put their names to House Resolution 8167. This outrageous proposal would demolish the Pittman-Robertson Act and any subsequent rider.
Removed would be the federal excise tax on firearms and archery tackle. The bill’s chief sponsor is Georgia Rep. Andrew Clyde. I did mention that a co-sponsor is Ohio Representative Warren Davidson, correct?
Clyde and his not-so-merry band of irresponsible legislative accomplices claim the excise tax violates the Second Amendment right to own firearms. Instead, they want to tap into other federal grant programs, each of which have important priorities of their own but are far from stable in revenue generation.
Personally, as a Republican for the past 51 years, I find it terribly embarrassing that HR 8167’s 53 adherents are all members of my party. No, correction. Not embarrassed, but ashamed.
Particularly since more than a few of the bill’s sponsors are also members of the so-called Congressional Sportsmens Caucus. Count both representatives Davidson and Clyde as being members.
This bipartisan group is supposed to be looking out for the welfare of the nation’s hunters, anglers and outdoors types. Its members ought not to be recklessly pulling the financial rug out from underneath the nation’s gun owners and hunters.
Indeed, this very same Caucus’s budget pillars are supported by the very companies that look to gun owners and hunters for their lifeblood, too: Bass Pro Shops, Cabela’s, Vista Outdoors, Ducks Unlimited, the National Shooting Sports Foundation, and the NRA being among them.
Look at the numbers of how the Pittman-Robertson (P-R) Act has benefited the interests of those who buy the firearms and the ammunition that representatives Clyde, Davidson and the 51 other misguided House Republicans say they are helping.
Over its lifetime, Pittman-Robertson has doled out $15 billion ($1.5 billion last year alone) to state fish and game agencies. This money is what floats these agencies’ fish and wildlife management boats.
Put the magnifying lens on just Ohio, if you please, Rep. Davidson.
In federal fiscal year 2022, the Ohio Division of Wildlife notes it was apportioned $21.9 million in Wildlife Restoration funds. And another $7.9 million in Sports Fish Restoration money.
Peek even closer at how the P-R Act benefits Ohio’s firearms owners. Remember, these are the people that HR 8167’s sponsors believe they’re coming to rescue.
However, not only is this eccentric effort unnecessary but it’s not being sought since the intended victims are not victims at all. Rather, they are volunteers who asked to be taxed in the first place.
Between 2015 and 2020, Ohio invested over $20 million into shooting and archery ranges throughout the state, the Wildlife Division’s figures show. And from 2020 to 2022, another $20 million was earmarked for shooting- and archery-range expansion and upgrades.
Do the math and the cha-ching totals $40 million in the last seven years. This money is designated for places where gun owners can unholster their handguns, sight-in their rifles, and bust some clay birds with their shotguns.
But like Caesar’s “et tu, Brute?” comment to Brutus who was holding one of the bloody knives; Davidson, Clyde and the others are prepared to gut not just sound wildlife management programs, they also would slay the public shooting ranges that gun owners repeatedly have said they want and need.
As it stands, Clyde, Davidson and the other 51 co-sponsoring House members can also add “Nitwit” to their respective political resumes.
- Jeffrey L. Frischkorn
JFrischk@Ameritech.net
JFrischk4@gmail.com
