Amendment would establish constitutional right to hunt, fish and trap in Kansas

Kansans would have a constitutional right to hunt, fish or trap wildlife under a proposed constitutional amendment.

If the resolution obtains a two-thirds majority in both the House and Senate, it will be added to a ballot for voters in November. If voters approve, Kansas would establish a constitutional protection for hunting and similar outdoor activities.

The effort has bipartisan backing.

Rep. Adam Lusker, D-Frontenac, one of the resolution’s sponsors, said that HCR 5008 comes out of a concern that in the future, “Kansas will be affected by a push from the coasts to limit what we can do in regard to wildlife with hunting, trapping and fishing. This puts at the onset to say, ‘Hey, we have our constitutional rights.’ ”

The resolution had a hearing before the House Committee on Federal and State Affairs on Tuesday, where it found backing from the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism.

“It does a lot of things in terms of wildlife and tourism to say, ‘Hey, Kansas is open. We’re interested in this,’ ” Lusker said.

Travis Couture-Lovelady, a lobbyist with the National Rifle Association and former lawmaker, said, “we may not need it in five, 10 or 15 years, but at some point as the population trends shift more urban, and we become more disconnected from that hunting heritage, it’s important to ingrain that in the constitution.”

Couture-Lovelady was Lusker’s co-sponsor on the bill before leaving the Legislature before the session to take a job with the NRA.

This story was originally published January 26, 2016 at 12:55 PM with the headline "Amendment would establish constitutional right to hunt, fish and trap in Kansas."