Vote 2018: North Carolina's proposed constitutional amendment for hunting, fishing

North Carolina's proposed constitutional amendment for hunting, fishing (Photo credit: WLOS Staff)

BUNCOMBE COUNTY, N.C. (WLOS) —

This year in North Carolina, voters will decide on six constitutional amendments. That number is unprecedented for one ballot.

On the ballot, you will be asked to pick "For" or "Against" a "constitutional amendment protecting the right of the people to hunt, fish, and harvest wildlife."

The ballot asks if you want to amend the state's constitution in just 14 words, but the actual amendment would be longer. The exact language for the amendment can be found here. It says the right to hunt, fish, and harvest wildlife "shall forever be preserved for the public good."

So, are people's abilities to hunt and fish currently being threatened?

"Some folks would say that this is like an insurance policy, right? That right now there's not really any threat, but there could be in the future," Western Carolina University Political Science Professor Chris Cooper explained.

"Throughout the country, organizations lobby every day to restrict or even prohibit hunting and fishing. The bill is not about the past, but about protecting the rights of our children and grandchildren to hunt and fish in North Carolina and I expect voters to agree,” said Senator Tom McInnis, a Republican from Richmond County, who first proposed the amendment.

The NRA supports the amendment.

"Gun control and gun rights are a big national issue right now, and so I think this is a movement where they're trying to protect that," Cooper said.

The amendment would give people the right to use "traditional methods," to hunt, fish, and harvest wildlife. The law does not define what traditional methods are. It also says hunting and fishing are the preferred methods to manage wildlife.

Twenty-one states already guarantee the right to hunt and fish in their constitutions. Here is the explanation of the amendment from the North Carolina's Constitutional Amendment Publication Commission.

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