For discussion only, from http://www.ardemgaz.com/today/ark/A01xhuntingfelonsa12.html
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>
Felons set to hunt pose problem for lawmen
CHRIS OSHER, ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE
More than a thousand felons convicted of violent crimes -- including second-degree murder, rape and drug trafficking -- have bought licenses to hunt in Arkansas during the past two years.
And roughly 3,000 nonviolent felons obtained hunting licenses during the same time period.
A felon hasn't committed a crime by purchasing a hunting license, but some law enforcement and wildlife officials find it troubling. They say it's a strong signal that felons are illegally using guns, in effect thumbing their noses at federal and state laws that bar them from possessing firearms.
At least 1,252 felons convicted of violent crimes bought hunting licenses from February 1999 through October of 2000, according to an Arkansas Democrat-Gazette analysis of databases from the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission and the Arkansas Administrative Office of Courts.
"That's a real frightening number," says Larry Jegley, the Pulaski County prosecuting attorney. "They shouldn't be able to obtain a hunting license -- much less a weapon to go along with it."
But there's little agreement on what to do about the situation, or even whether anything should be done at all. Some police worry about the prospect of felons toting shotguns and going hunting, and think some agency should start monitoring the situation. Currently, no state, federal or local agency regularly checks to find out which felons buy licenses to hunt.
Others say instituting safeguards poses a conundrum for law enforcement and wildlife officials. It would be a bureaucratic headache, possibly an intrusion on hunters and a drain on resources, they say.
"We've got a lot of infringements and inquiries into the backgrounds and private lives as it is," Jegley says.
MANPOWER STRETCHED
Bill Buford, the resident agent in charge of the Little Rock office of the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, says his office already is saddled with enough duties, ranging from investigating arson to illegal gun trafficking.
There's just not enough time to chase down hunters with felony records, he says.
Further, a felon possessing a hunting license doesn't necessarily mean he's hunting with a gun, Buford says. They could just be using a bow and arrow, he points out.
"From a manpower issue, it would be difficult," he says. "You have to put your people where you can and on what you feel is the most significant."
More than 330,000 people buy hunting licenses in the Natural State each year, generating $665 million. The majority of hunters use firearms, though trapping and bow and arrow hunting are popular alternatives.
Capt. Kirk Lane, the head of investigations for the Pulaski County sheriff's office, is an avid hunter. Lane hunts as often as he can. He hunts squirrel. He hunts duck. He hunts deer. "You name it, I hunt it," he says.
Lane says he understands the need to protect hunters' rights, but he doesn't like the idea of letting felons flout the law.
"I hate to say it because people are going to cringe," Lane says, "but it should be pursued. There is the potential to uncover somebody who had the possibility of hurting somebody. That's what we're here for: To protect the public."
Just don't do it at the expense of hunters, says Terry Horton, executive director of the Arkansas Wildlife Federation, the nonprofit hunting, fishing and conservation group.
Felons who buy hunting licenses should get visits from the police to make sure they aren't using guns, Horton says. At the very least, they should get a letter warning them to stay away from guns, he says, adding that it's a role some law enforcement agency should take on.
"With that many convicted felons hunting, it is a concern that all citizens should have," Horton says. "Certainly, we would hope they're rehabilitated. But what would it hurt to have another agency, other than Game and Fish, do some cross-checking?"
Horton, however, says he's adamantly opposed to requiring criminal background checks for those who buy hunting licenses because doing so would unnecessarily burden those who have committed no crimes.
The National Rifle Association agrees, advocating that enough safeguards are in place, and instituting background checks for hunting licenses would just become a nuisance.
"We would not support any campaign ... where you would have to wait a certain amount of time to get your hunting license," says Todd Adkins, an NRA spokesman.
Already, felons are barred from purchasing firearms, and gun buyers must submit to background checks when they buy a gun at a licensed gun shop, Adkins points out.
"While the NRA does not support the right of felons carrying firearms, we have to be careful that we don't equate buying a hunting license with owning a gun."
It's an issue that at least one other state has had to address.
In Utah, new regulations drawn up this summer prohibit felons from purchasing hunting licenses, part of a crackdown triggered by a gun-control law passed at the close of a legislative session.
The new law closed a loophole that had allowed violent felons to hunt with guns in Utah.
"We were increasingly encountering people with violent felony convictions, people that you wouldn't want to see with a dangerous weapon, who, when they were stopped by law enforcement, would say they were on a hunting trip or going target shooting," said Bob Elswood, chief of law enforcement for the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, when the law was passed.
One officer had even found a hunter bent over the wheel of a pickup, snorting lines of cocaine.
ARMED FELON
Calvin Boone is the type of hunter police worry about.
He was convicted of second-degree murder. And as a felon, he's prohibited by law from possessing a gun.
But that didn't stop Boone from paying $25 on Nov. 12, 1999, for a hunting license. Since then, he says, he's regularly used a shotgun to hunt squirrels.
Boone, now 34 and living in Texarkana, says he knows that it's illegal for a felon to use a gun. Still, he says, he can't help taking a shotgun out to go squirrel hunting.
"My dad hunted, and my granddaddy hunted. I guess that's where I got it from. It's in my blood."
Boone says he thinks he should be allowed to handle a shotgun because his days of crime are in the past, and he's drug free now.
Arkansas Code 5-73-103 makes it a Class B felony, punishable by five to 20 years in prison, for a felon to possess or own a firearm unless the governor restores weapons rights. Restoration of those rights is allowable eight years after the original felony conviction and only if the original felony did not involve a weapon. The chief law enforcement officer of the area where the felon lives also must make a recommendation to the governor on the issue.
None of the violent felons discovered by the Democrat-Gazette had received a pardon or a restoration of weapons rights before purchasing a hunting license.
"I know I ain't supposed to hunt," Boone says. "I ain't supposed to be around guns, period. I'm going to leave that hunting alone now. I got to. I know it."
Most felons with hunting licenses are probably like Boone, illegally using firearms to take game, says Len Pitcock, a spokesman with the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission.
But not all of them are, Pitcock says, and that's a major sticking point for Game and Fish. Some hunters could be using a bow and arrow, which would be legal unless they were on probation or parole, in which case no dangerous weapon can be possessed.
Or they could be trapping, as was the case with Phillip Burr, who bought a hunting license last November.
In 1996, Burr was convicted of manslaughter in connection with a drive-by shooting in the death of 20-year-old Crystal Cagle along a highway in Jefferson County.
Burr's father says his son used the hunting license to trap beaver, which would be legal. But Burr is not hunting these days.
"He's back in prison now," says his father, Alton Burr. "A parole violation took him back."
BACKGROUND CHECKS?
The Game and Fish agency this year teamed up with the Office of Child Support Enforcement to suspend hunting privileges for those who refuse to pay child support.
But it's not about to start tracking down felons, Pitcock says, although any law enforcement agency is welcome to use the hunting license database.
"We are a state wildlife agency," Pitcock says. "I don't think it's in our charge to run down convicted felons."
For Jegley, the prosecuting attorney, the issue is complicated.
Jegley is leery of instituting criminal background checks on hunters. Doing so would require owners of small shops and sporting goods stores that sell hunting licenses to check criminal records, something they don't even have access to, he says.
And involving law enforcement agencies would take resources away from other crime-fighting tasks, he says.
But Cpl. Greg Rae, of the enforcement division of the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, says he would welcome screening of hunting licenses for felons.
"It'd be nice if we had some type of system that would kick [an application] back and say, 'No, we can't issue a license to this fellow because he is a felon,' " Rae says.
Every hunting season, Rae says, he comes across a few suspicious characters out in the woods who prompt him to call in for a criminal background check. In any given year, about three of those turn out to be felons, prompting Rae to confiscate their weapons and turn their names into the local law enforcement agency.
Rae says he thinks some agency should start keeping track of the felons buying hunting licenses.
Arkansas State Police Sgt. Don Birdsong says it's not a responsibility he's eager to take on. There's already enough to do investigating crimes and checking the background of those applying for concealed weapons permits, he says.
"Are we going to go one more step into people's rights? I'm not saying it's right or wrong, but some are so believing in gun rights that this would be an additional slap at them."
This article was published on Sunday, November 12, 2000[/quote]
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>
Felons set to hunt pose problem for lawmen
CHRIS OSHER, ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE
More than a thousand felons convicted of violent crimes -- including second-degree murder, rape and drug trafficking -- have bought licenses to hunt in Arkansas during the past two years.
And roughly 3,000 nonviolent felons obtained hunting licenses during the same time period.
A felon hasn't committed a crime by purchasing a hunting license, but some law enforcement and wildlife officials find it troubling. They say it's a strong signal that felons are illegally using guns, in effect thumbing their noses at federal and state laws that bar them from possessing firearms.
At least 1,252 felons convicted of violent crimes bought hunting licenses from February 1999 through October of 2000, according to an Arkansas Democrat-Gazette analysis of databases from the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission and the Arkansas Administrative Office of Courts.
"That's a real frightening number," says Larry Jegley, the Pulaski County prosecuting attorney. "They shouldn't be able to obtain a hunting license -- much less a weapon to go along with it."
But there's little agreement on what to do about the situation, or even whether anything should be done at all. Some police worry about the prospect of felons toting shotguns and going hunting, and think some agency should start monitoring the situation. Currently, no state, federal or local agency regularly checks to find out which felons buy licenses to hunt.
Others say instituting safeguards poses a conundrum for law enforcement and wildlife officials. It would be a bureaucratic headache, possibly an intrusion on hunters and a drain on resources, they say.
"We've got a lot of infringements and inquiries into the backgrounds and private lives as it is," Jegley says.
MANPOWER STRETCHED
Bill Buford, the resident agent in charge of the Little Rock office of the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, says his office already is saddled with enough duties, ranging from investigating arson to illegal gun trafficking.
There's just not enough time to chase down hunters with felony records, he says.
Further, a felon possessing a hunting license doesn't necessarily mean he's hunting with a gun, Buford says. They could just be using a bow and arrow, he points out.
"From a manpower issue, it would be difficult," he says. "You have to put your people where you can and on what you feel is the most significant."
More than 330,000 people buy hunting licenses in the Natural State each year, generating $665 million. The majority of hunters use firearms, though trapping and bow and arrow hunting are popular alternatives.
Capt. Kirk Lane, the head of investigations for the Pulaski County sheriff's office, is an avid hunter. Lane hunts as often as he can. He hunts squirrel. He hunts duck. He hunts deer. "You name it, I hunt it," he says.
Lane says he understands the need to protect hunters' rights, but he doesn't like the idea of letting felons flout the law.
"I hate to say it because people are going to cringe," Lane says, "but it should be pursued. There is the potential to uncover somebody who had the possibility of hurting somebody. That's what we're here for: To protect the public."
Just don't do it at the expense of hunters, says Terry Horton, executive director of the Arkansas Wildlife Federation, the nonprofit hunting, fishing and conservation group.
Felons who buy hunting licenses should get visits from the police to make sure they aren't using guns, Horton says. At the very least, they should get a letter warning them to stay away from guns, he says, adding that it's a role some law enforcement agency should take on.
"With that many convicted felons hunting, it is a concern that all citizens should have," Horton says. "Certainly, we would hope they're rehabilitated. But what would it hurt to have another agency, other than Game and Fish, do some cross-checking?"
Horton, however, says he's adamantly opposed to requiring criminal background checks for those who buy hunting licenses because doing so would unnecessarily burden those who have committed no crimes.
The National Rifle Association agrees, advocating that enough safeguards are in place, and instituting background checks for hunting licenses would just become a nuisance.
"We would not support any campaign ... where you would have to wait a certain amount of time to get your hunting license," says Todd Adkins, an NRA spokesman.
Already, felons are barred from purchasing firearms, and gun buyers must submit to background checks when they buy a gun at a licensed gun shop, Adkins points out.
"While the NRA does not support the right of felons carrying firearms, we have to be careful that we don't equate buying a hunting license with owning a gun."
It's an issue that at least one other state has had to address.
In Utah, new regulations drawn up this summer prohibit felons from purchasing hunting licenses, part of a crackdown triggered by a gun-control law passed at the close of a legislative session.
The new law closed a loophole that had allowed violent felons to hunt with guns in Utah.
"We were increasingly encountering people with violent felony convictions, people that you wouldn't want to see with a dangerous weapon, who, when they were stopped by law enforcement, would say they were on a hunting trip or going target shooting," said Bob Elswood, chief of law enforcement for the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, when the law was passed.
One officer had even found a hunter bent over the wheel of a pickup, snorting lines of cocaine.
ARMED FELON
Calvin Boone is the type of hunter police worry about.
He was convicted of second-degree murder. And as a felon, he's prohibited by law from possessing a gun.
But that didn't stop Boone from paying $25 on Nov. 12, 1999, for a hunting license. Since then, he says, he's regularly used a shotgun to hunt squirrels.
Boone, now 34 and living in Texarkana, says he knows that it's illegal for a felon to use a gun. Still, he says, he can't help taking a shotgun out to go squirrel hunting.
"My dad hunted, and my granddaddy hunted. I guess that's where I got it from. It's in my blood."
Boone says he thinks he should be allowed to handle a shotgun because his days of crime are in the past, and he's drug free now.
Arkansas Code 5-73-103 makes it a Class B felony, punishable by five to 20 years in prison, for a felon to possess or own a firearm unless the governor restores weapons rights. Restoration of those rights is allowable eight years after the original felony conviction and only if the original felony did not involve a weapon. The chief law enforcement officer of the area where the felon lives also must make a recommendation to the governor on the issue.
None of the violent felons discovered by the Democrat-Gazette had received a pardon or a restoration of weapons rights before purchasing a hunting license.
"I know I ain't supposed to hunt," Boone says. "I ain't supposed to be around guns, period. I'm going to leave that hunting alone now. I got to. I know it."
Most felons with hunting licenses are probably like Boone, illegally using firearms to take game, says Len Pitcock, a spokesman with the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission.
But not all of them are, Pitcock says, and that's a major sticking point for Game and Fish. Some hunters could be using a bow and arrow, which would be legal unless they were on probation or parole, in which case no dangerous weapon can be possessed.
Or they could be trapping, as was the case with Phillip Burr, who bought a hunting license last November.
In 1996, Burr was convicted of manslaughter in connection with a drive-by shooting in the death of 20-year-old Crystal Cagle along a highway in Jefferson County.
Burr's father says his son used the hunting license to trap beaver, which would be legal. But Burr is not hunting these days.
"He's back in prison now," says his father, Alton Burr. "A parole violation took him back."
BACKGROUND CHECKS?
The Game and Fish agency this year teamed up with the Office of Child Support Enforcement to suspend hunting privileges for those who refuse to pay child support.
But it's not about to start tracking down felons, Pitcock says, although any law enforcement agency is welcome to use the hunting license database.
"We are a state wildlife agency," Pitcock says. "I don't think it's in our charge to run down convicted felons."
For Jegley, the prosecuting attorney, the issue is complicated.
Jegley is leery of instituting criminal background checks on hunters. Doing so would require owners of small shops and sporting goods stores that sell hunting licenses to check criminal records, something they don't even have access to, he says.
And involving law enforcement agencies would take resources away from other crime-fighting tasks, he says.
But Cpl. Greg Rae, of the enforcement division of the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, says he would welcome screening of hunting licenses for felons.
"It'd be nice if we had some type of system that would kick [an application] back and say, 'No, we can't issue a license to this fellow because he is a felon,' " Rae says.
Every hunting season, Rae says, he comes across a few suspicious characters out in the woods who prompt him to call in for a criminal background check. In any given year, about three of those turn out to be felons, prompting Rae to confiscate their weapons and turn their names into the local law enforcement agency.
Rae says he thinks some agency should start keeping track of the felons buying hunting licenses.
Arkansas State Police Sgt. Don Birdsong says it's not a responsibility he's eager to take on. There's already enough to do investigating crimes and checking the background of those applying for concealed weapons permits, he says.
"Are we going to go one more step into people's rights? I'm not saying it's right or wrong, but some are so believing in gun rights that this would be an additional slap at them."
This article was published on Sunday, November 12, 2000[/quote]
