• CT; Bill Banning Large-Capacity Ammo Magazines Draws Heat At Hearing. "This bill is nothing more than a knee-jerk reaction to a terrible incident in Tucson, Ariz.''   
• MA Division of Fisheries & Wildlife has some great programs for the ladies, check the schedule here! 
• Check out the all new MassGunLawReform.com! This is our site dedicated to our Civil Rights and Public Safety Bill which was filed this week
• President Obama: We must seek agreement on gun reforms.Is this the start of the White House campaigning for more anti civil rights legislation?  (see NRA response in its entirety below) 
• Safer Streets 2011: There's No Such Thing as Common Sense Reform of Gun Laws."Gun control has never worked for safer streets; it short-circuits safe streets by creating a void in a community's ability to meet and manage violence in the absence of police."
• Permitless Carry Bill Moves to the New Hampshire Senate.HB 330 would permit any person who can legally carry a firearm to possess a firearm openly or concealed without obtaining a license to carry a concealed firearm in New Hampshire.
• Guns Restricted In Massachusetts Still Find Their Way In.GOAL Executive Director Jim Wallace on WBUR sets record straight
• MA Special Election, Primary is April 12th! 10th Middlesex and 6th Worcester Representative Seats up for election  
• Rhode Island: Legislation to Change LCCW Fees Still Being Studied in House Finance Committee. HB 5010 would increase the LCCW permit fee from $40 to $100. This excessive and unreasonable fee increase becomes a tax on the exercise of a constitutional right
• National Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Bill Introduced In U.S. House. The measure would allow any person with a valid state-issued concealed carry permit to carry a concealed firearm in any state that issues concealed firearm permits, or that does not prohibit the carrying of concealed firearms.
• DATA SHOOTS HOLES IN BLOOMBERG'S BILLBOARD CAMPAIGN, SAYS CCRKBA "If Bloomberg was really interested in public safety rather than publicity," Gottlieb concluded, "he would park that truck and take all the money he's spending on the billboard and the fuel, and give it to local gun clubs for firearms safety training and education."
• NRA endorses Tester's bill aimed at allowing antique gun re-importation, sales Senator's legislation would allow American-made firearms abroad to be re-sold to U.S. collectors  

• Read more Local stories on goalnews.org-local here  
• Read more National stories on goalnews.org-national here    

On Monday, March 14, 2011 the Joint Committee on the Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture held a public hearing on bills related to trapping and dam safety. There were several pieces of legislation that sought to amend the current laws regarding trapping methods in Massachusetts. As anyone in the Commonwealth who lives near any freshwater streams and rivers knows most effective means of trapping and controlling furbearer populations was banned in 1996.

During the 1996 elections, the now infamous Question One was supported by the animal rights extremists. Unfortunately, the general public was completely misled by a campaign of lies and deceit funded by the deep pockets of these radical groups. The initiative petition banned most traps for beaver, muskrat, etc. It also banned the use of dogs and bait for bear and bobcat. Finally it did away with the requirement for members of the seven person Fisheries and Wildlife Board to hold a hunting or sporting license.

Without a doubt Question One has become the worst wildlife management and environmental disasters of modern Massachusetts times. Since its inception, citizens along with municipalities and wildlife officials have struggled to deal with the aftermath. Prior to the trapping ban taking effect furbearers, beavers and muskrat for the most part, were harvested for their pelts and utilized by the trapper. Today these animals are treated more like pests and are trapped by a growing number of nuisance animal control companies and disposed of in the land fill.

In an effort to bring these species back to professionally managed species rather than a pest, the Joint Committee released a bill after the public hearing. The bill does several things including

• Removes the ban on manufacture and possession of body gripping traps,
• Ads wildlife agencies or divisions to the list of government entities who are eligible to use so-called prohibited devices,
• Adds the reason for using traps to include "for the management of furbearing wildlife during their established regulated seasons."
• Allows the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife (Mass DFW) to establish regulations regarding the use of so-called prohibited devices.
• Creates a reporting system for those persons using special trapping permits so that the Mass DFW can gather data on the species and their taking.

While this bill does not outright repeal the onerous 1996 law, it does take a good step towards managing the species professionally rather than simply killing it as a pest.

There was no bill number at the writing of this column, but please check the GOAL website or the next edition of The Outdoor Message for updates.

We need to raise the funds to continue to promote our reform bill and continue to fight for the rights of Massachusetts gun owners.

This Annual Raffle is our primary fund raising event for the year and is vitally necessary to our continued success.

Tickets are $5.00 each, and you may purchase tickets online, at GOAL headquarters, or by calling the GOAL office at (508) 393-5333.  

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