Reply #21: LTTE "Don’t ban archery in city limits" [View All]

Don’t ban archery in city limits
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Dear Editor: If the proposed ban on archery within the {Tuscaloosa, Alabama} City limits is imposed, it will be a sad day for the future of archery and Alabama’s deer population.

The ban will deal a severe blow to the future of archery. Fewer of our youth will be growing up in archery while adults will be leaving the sport. If young and old can’t shoot their bows on their property, most will not develop or maintain an interest in archery.

The ban will damage our deer population and possibly the sport of hunting, in general. We have all heard the adage that “practice makes perfect". Bow hunting requires the hunter to know their equipment and to be very accurate. This ban will have the unintended consequence of more wounded, un-recovered, and inhumanely taken deer, due to the resulting reduction in practice.

What are some of the other unintended consequences? More people moving out of the City and into the County where they are free to shoot a bow? Disregard for the ban by otherwise law-abiding people? Valuable resources spent on enforcement with no real reduction in damages or improvement in safety?

If absolutely necessary, it would be preferable to have reasonable requirements regarding equipment, suitable targets, and backstops, rather than a ban. Archery can be pursued safely and responsibly within the City limits, so it should not be banned. Only the reckless and irresponsible should be penalized, not everyone.
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