Most if not all of us grew up hunting and fishing with our parents, grandparents, and friends. Some of my best memories with my kids and grandkids are when I have taken them hunting and fishing, and this is when some of the best life lessons and family stories are passed on from one generation to the next.
In my opinion, enjoying the great outdoors with our friends and family is one of the most important and special parts of the American dream. Unfortunately, the Biden administration is planning to impose more rules and more regulations on even our most basic rights.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is expected to come out with new regulations to limit equipment used on some public properties and expand the area where lead ammo and fishing tackle is banned.
I have huge concerns with these actions. Low-cost lead ammunition and fishing gear are commonly used by all of us, and banning them would essentially be the same as putting up “No Hunting” signs on millions of acres of land and kicking people off waterways they have fished for years.
Access to hunting and fishing on public lands is so important in this country, and we can’t allow the Biden administration to take away these rights because they would rather listen to far-left environmental groups than trust the science and leave law-abiding Americans alone. Whether it’s attempts to ban gas stoves, force expensive electric vehicles on everyone, or tell us what kind of ammunition we can hunt with or fishing lures we can fish with, this Administration seems determined to chip away at our constitutional rights.
A gunsmith told me years ago if the government tries to control ammunition supplies, that’s how they will truly infringe on our 2nd Amendment rights. A gun can be made of almost anything, so trying to control the guns themselves is less effective than the government banning different components that are necessary to make ammunition. Actions like banning lead ammunition on certain public lands is a step toward this slippery slope, and we cannot let them get away with it.
I can promise you I will do all I can to stop this from happening and ensure no Administration can try to do something similar. I encourage you to do some research on this proposal and make sure all our elected officials know how wrong and anti-American it is.
Jerry Carl represents Alabama’s First Congressional District. He lives in Mobile with his wife Tina.
