Oregon bowhunters and the greater bowhunting community officially have their victory over the anti-hunting proposed PEACE Act, or IP 28. The bowhunting community breathes a sigh of relief after the PEACE Act failed to meet the required threshold of verified signatures, falling short in Oregon’s signature verification process once again. This proposed ballot initiative kept the bowhunting community on edge as it seemed to come closer to the ballot, even though it was likely to face a harsh demise with the greater Oregon public regardless of whether it met the signature threshold. For many, it is more of an awakening to how serious the anti-hunting movement is growing, and how serious its efforts are to terminate our hunting rights and way of life.
Had the PEACE Act made it onto the ballot this November, it would have had to receive 117,173 valid signatures, of which only 104,262, or 73.25% of the 142,347 submitted, were validated. While it still had a significant hurdle to clear, this is one of the closest calls bowhunters have had in recent times. Because this was such a significant anti-hunting initiative, Bowhunters United members, the greater bowhunting community and the rest of the hunting community truly came together to make hunters aware of this on a national level. It’s proof that when the bowhunting community speaks up together, we can bring light to issues like this and ensure maximum awareness. Although this was a state-level issue, it was crucial that it received national attention from bowhunters to grow awareness of the new threat and build a more united bowhunting community. Had it successfully made the ballot and passed; it would have set a precedent for the anti-hunting community to pursue this strategy nationally in other states. Going forward, it is our job to stay on alert, as the PEACE Act will likely rear its head in Oregon again, and only time will tell if this strategy spreads to other states.
When a ballot measure like this fails, the anti-hunting movement doesn’t stop; it just changes tactics. On another front social media influencer Jonas Black recently posted a $10,000 reward for the identity of any legal Wyoming wolf hunter who takes a member of Mollie’s Pack, a famed wolf pack that resides mostly within the protected boundaries of Yellowstone but recently denned outside the park, making its members fair game for licensed wolf hunters. Black’s goal is to take a page from the Cecil the Lion story and apply a new strategy of unmasking and harassing legal hunters, both across social media and in their personal lives. It’s a dangerous move for the anti-hunting community to unmask legal hunters, and should it become common practice, it will be crucial for the bowhunting and greater hunting community to stay strongly united and look out for each other.
It’s safe to say we aren’t short on new threats to bowhunting in today’s world. But if the bowhunting community can model and repeat its response and awareness-spreading, like the handling of the PEACE Act, these new attacks on bowhunting will continue to face an uphill battle and fall short. To stay plugged into everything impacting bowhunting, from new legislation to state and federal policies, join Bowhunters United for free.
