Guns in the Suburbs – LET’S MAKE DEER DEAR

Will the person who gave Representative Pearce the flier from our last newsletter please step forward?    -J

In The Birmingham News (“Everything Alabama”) on March 9, the outdoors columnist Mike Bolton wrote about MO House Bill 386.

He wryly points to the fact that the State of Alabama claims to own the deer herd. (That allows them to set seasons and bag limits, he points out.) “If that is the case, some accident victims have wondered why the state isn’t at least partly responsible when one of its deer trots out in the middle of the road and totals a $30,000 vehicle….or worse, causes a fatality. …In those cases the state denies responsibility… Missouri State Rep. David Pearce (R) was involved in a deer crash that did more than $2,000 in damage to his minivan. He has introduced legislation that would require the Missouri Department of Conservation to pay the first $250, a typical insurance deductible, of any claim resulting from a collision with a deer….Pearce says that the “state agency populated the state with deer and it should be responsible for keeping them in control.”

[Editor’s Note: Bolton is concerned that the powerful insurance lobby might push for it. But why would they push the bill to get a deductible paid? That’s the one part they don’t pay. What about a bill that requires the game departments to pay the full cost? Now that’s something the insurance companies would get behind! It would bankrupt the game agencies, wouldn’t it? The Bill is House Bill No. 386, it was introduced by Representatives Pearce, Deeken, Sander, Guest, Townley (co-sponsors), Munzinger, Moore, Crawford and Luetkemeyer. Rep. David Pearce is from District 121. MO C.A.S.H. supporters should give those guys a lot of support.]