Supreme Court upholds hunter harassment law (5/15/2002)

Connecticut-

The Connecticut Supreme Court has ruled that a law designed to protect hunters and anglers from harassment does not violate the First Amendment. The law was based on a draft model written by the U. S. Sportsmen’s Alliance.

The Supreme Court judges, who ruled 5-0 in favor of sportsmen, said the state’s hunter harassment law does not infringe on the right to free speech and assembly, as argued by anti-hunting activists. They ruled that forests where hunting is allowed are not intended for public assembly and do not contain facilities for public interaction.

"Like mailboxes and airports, the mere fact that the state forests and undeveloped state parks are appealing locations for those seeking to convey a message does not make them public fora", Chief Justice William Sullivan wrote in his opinion.

He went on to explain that the anti-hunters have "their speech restricted only to the degree necessary to prevent interference with taking game."

The court noted that activists have other means of protesting hunting, including speaking to sportsmen’s clubs or advertising.

"That they therefore must fend for themselves in the marketplace of ideas does not give rise to a First Amendment violation," wrote Sullivan.

This court case began in 1991 when a group of anti-hunters interfered with a sportsman who was lawfully hunting in a Connecticut state forest. The anti’s were arrested for violation of the hunter harassment law when they refused to stop their activities. They filed the lawsuit arguing that the law violated their rights to free speech and assembly.

Hunter harassment laws have been enacted in all 50 states. The U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance drafted hunter harassment legislation in the early 1980s and by 1995, every state in the union had approved legislation to make hunter harassment illegal.

CopyrightÓ  U.S. Sportsmen's Alliance- www.ussportsmen.org

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