TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Today, Sierra Club Florida announced it has joined the NoTo2.org political committee, a coalition of nearly 30 environmental organizations dedicated to defeating Amendment 2 – an initiative on the 2024 ballot to enshrine the right to hunt and fish in Florida’s constitution.
Despite the Florida Statutes already recognizing such a right, outdoors and gun rights groups have nonetheless pushed the amendment onto this year’s ballot as a means to permanently establish hunting and fishing as the preferred practice for wildlife management in Florida.
By designating hunting and fishing as an official function of Florida’s highest law of the land, Amendment 2 would codify lethal force as the state’s primary method for animal control and removal – overriding wildlife protections, upending conservation efforts, and opening the door to hunting in public places such as parks, as well as the private property of individual citizens.
Together with its NoTo2.org partners, Sierra Club Florida is committed to defeating this deceptive and dangerous amendment in November, and ensuring that Floridians from all sides of the political spectrum are equipped with the facts ahead of Election Day.
Grant Gelhardt, Sierra Club Florida Conservation Committee Chair, said, “Just as Florida legalizes the killing of bears, now all of our wildlife is under threat with Amendment 2. Make no mistake: This amendment was deliberately designed to exploit one of our most cherished cultural pastimes as a means to bypass wildlife protections and gun safety regulations. Any Floridian who cares about protecting their existing right to hunt, fish, or private property should vote NO on Amendment 2 this November.”
Susannah Randolph, Sierra Club Florida Chapter Director, said, “The gun lobby has once again demonstrated there is no depth too low for them in their shameful scheming to amend Florida’s constitution with their agenda. This amendment does nothing to protect the long-established legal rights of Florida’s hunters and anglers, and only stands to jeopardize the safety of our wildlife, residents, and communities. Sierra Club Florida stands with its partners around the state in rejecting this attack on our Constitution, and urges all Floridians to say “NO” to Amendment 2 on Election Day.”
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