BANGOR DAILY NEWS • October 25, 2021
Everyone deserves food, right? So why would the drafters protect personal choice of food but not mention hunger, or include the human rights framework the Maine Municipal Association flagged to protect an individual right to food? Because it appears that Question 3 isn’t about food at all, it seems to be about preemption of the regulation that governments use to strike a balance between neighbors, business and existing obligations like public health, safety and water quality. The Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine has stated this amendment will create the “right to hunt.” If Sunday hunting is allowed, public land managers of mixed-use properties will feel the heat to remove all hunting activity from such trails. This is exactly what we need to avoid while balancing our heritage hunting culture with an influx of new neighbors who don’t understand it. Maine Municipal Association supports voting no on Question 3. ~Rebecca Graham, Maine Municipal Association