No hunting and fishing allowed! Is this the sign we will see as we enter the state of New Jersey? Will one of the greatest American traditions and pastimes be outlawed in New Jersey? I never thought it could happen here in America. After all, in England I thought the people were used to a government that didn’t care about the little people. Yes, it happened in England years ago; the government took away all the firearms and outlawed hunting except for the richest of the rich.
Will New Jersey pass Assembly bill A-3275 and its Senate companion S-2041 that will change the fish and wildlife board into a political arm of the government? And to whom do we have to thank for this wonderful gift of another blow to our freedoms? Mike Panter and Ellen Karcher that’s who. Maybe (Assemblyman) Panter and (Senator) Karcher forgot who also lives in New Jersey.
I live in New Jersey with my wife and four children, two girls and two boys. My 15-year-old boy is a Boy Scout and an avid hunter and harvested his first deer last year. My 12-year-old boy is also a Boy Scout and an avid fisherman. We fish on my 21-year-old boat on Raritan Bay. My 10-year-old girl loves to fish also, my 20-year-old daughter and my wife are also known once or twice on really nice and calm days to wet a line.
I have hunted and fished for close to 44 years. I am the counselor for the archery, shotgun, rifle, boating etc. merit badges for the Monmouth Council Boy Scouts.
What am I to tell my kids now? What will I tell my grandchildren when they ask me why the government outlawed fishing poles? There are thousands of little people just like me in New Jersey. We are not rich people who can afford million dollar boats. I can’t even afford hundred thousand dollar boats. But we, the little people, fish off banks, streams and bulkheads all over New Jersey.
We, the little people, say enough is enough.
Allen Forkowitz
Manalapan

