No Hunting Allowed (on Montgomery County probation)

Filed under: Criminal Law by Steven F. Fairlie @ June 9, 2021

Montgomery County, Pennsylvania has an odd rule for every single person placed on probation – No Hunting! Why single out hunters as opposed to people who pursue other potentially dangerous hobbies? A probationer can still participate in competitive axe throwing. Unless of course an axe falls into the prohibition on owning any “lethal weapon.” But then if an axe is a lethal weapon, so is a steak knife. And we don’t think they meant to criminalize possession of our dinner knives right? Probationers can’t eat meat in their homes? There is already a specific prohibition on possessing firearms for anyone on probation. So the Second Amendment has already been thrown out the window. I understand the concept of prohibiting a firearm for anyone convicted of using one in the commission of a crime. Under those circumstances you have forfeited your Second Amendment rights. But what about someone who commits a first offense DUI? Or furnishing alcohol to a minor? Or possession of a small amount of marijuana? By committing minor misdemeanors these people have forfeited their rights to possess firearms? And to hunt, even with a bow and arrow? This seems like a stretch. Pennsylvania has long held that driving is a privilege, not a right (unlike the Second Amendment). So why not a rule that DUI offenders on probation cannot drive as long as they are on probation? Isn’t that more rationally related to the safety of the community? If we were to compile statistics, I’m certain there are far fewer people injured by probationers hunting than by convicted DUI offenders driving. Do you agree? What is the rationale for specifically banning all hunting for those on probation while permitting those same probationers to engage in all sorts of other potentially dangerous behavior? Should hunting be prohibited for everyone on probation in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania? Please share your thoughts below.

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