While supporters of the Fair Chase Initiative are wooing voters at one end of the North Dakota State Fairgrounds, Citizens to Preserve North Dakota Property Rights are set up at the other end to nip any relationship in the bud with a counter message.
The drama associated two years ago with a measure to ban captive hunting is back.
Roger Kaseman of Bismarck, chairman for the measure's petition drive, continues to claim harassment from opponents at his fair booth. Dwight Grosz of Hazen, chairman of the property rights group, denies the charges, which he says are just more lies to try to discredit deer, elk and bison growers.
"If you don't have facts on your side, use emotion. That's what this is all about," Grosz said. "We are out here just trying to educate the people on what this really is."
He said the state encouraged the raising of alternative livestock in the 1990s.
"All of a sudden, now in the middle of the card game somebody wants to change all the rules," he said.
Kaseman said his group simply wants to ban the hunting of big-game animals that are fenced in enclosures. The Fair Chase Initiative lists its objectives as promoting a hunting heritage and preventing the creation and expansion of commercial markets for wildlife.
Kaseman said the group obtained adequate signatures to get the measure on the ballot two years ago but failed to properly file the petitions. He said the group is finding there's more support this time around.
"We are better organized. We are at many more venues this year. We are going to get many more signatures," he said.
Grosz said captive hunting is being mischaracterized and wrongly villianized. However, the state's small numbers of growers would be at a financial disadvantage in a campaign if the measure makes it to the ballot, which is why they are working so hard to discourage people from signing the initiated petition.
The deadline for getting on the Nov. 2 ballot is Wednesday. Statutory measures like captive hunting need 12,844 signatures. Constitutional measures require 25,688 signatures.
Members of the North Dakota Family Alliance are seeking signatures to get a constitutional Religious Liberty Restoration Amendment on the ballot.
Meant to restrict government burden on religious expression, the amendment would prevent situations such as anti-gang policies in schools that prohibit wearing religious items and laws requiring medical students to be trained in abortion or forcing a print shop to print pro-abortion materials against his religious beliefs, according to the alliance.
"Our opposition is pretty much apathy and ignorance of the long-term consequences of having our freedom stripped away," said Virginia Dohms of Minot, who was helping staff the alliance's booth Wednesday.
People don't realize that attacks on religious freedom are occurring in the state, she said. She mentioned one mother who stopped by the booth and told of a teacher who wouldn't accept her third-grade daughter's book report on a Christian book.
The alliance is encouraging people to get involved by helping collect signatures. Petitions can be downloaded from its Web site at (www.ndfa.org).
Lynn Bergman of Bismarck has been at the fair appealing for signatures on petitions to abolish property taxes. He said his goal is to educate voters.
"They are very unfamiliar and they are afraid of change," he said, adding that some do come around and sign the petition once they learn the issues.
"Those are the people who are beginning to understand. They understand that we are hurting the elderly with these property taxes. We are hurting the poor. We are hurting a lot of people. When I show them that the money is there to get rid of property taxes, they understand," he said. "The other thing I am explaining to people who are having a tough time with the change is government does not drive our economy. Oil, agriculture, private enterprise are what's been driving this boom in North Dakota for the last 10 years. Government is trying to take credit for it."
Bergman provided information listing projected property taxes of $1.61 billion for the biennium. The money could be replaced by eliminating wasteful spending and using existing state taxes, including taxes on the booming oil industry, he said. As an example of waste, he said, the number of school administrators is up while the number of schools has dropped and enrollment is down.
Eliminating property taxes hasn't been an option favored by most state legislators, who have created some property-tax relief in recent sessions.
Rep. Matt Klein, R-Minot, said abolishing property taxes could shift the burden to income and sales taxes if people demand the same level of road maintenance, policing and other services. Proponents of the measure still favor saving a percentage of oil taxes, and Klein said that's where the focus should be.
"It's a depletable resource. The day will come when you don't have that," he said. "We kind of need to look to the future a little bit."
Rep. Lisa Wolf, D-Minot, said she sees a need for reducing property taxes and wasteful spending but questions whether abolishing the property tax is the solution.
Other petitions being circulated across the state for constitutional measures seek to set two-year term limits for state offices and establish an independent redistricting committee that would replace the Legislature in reapportionment following census counts.
Petitions also are circulating for statutory measures that ask voters to:
- eliminate the requirement that pharmacies be owned by pharmacists, opening the door to stores like Wal-Mart.
- increase the tax on alcohol and establish a fund for alcohol and drug education and prevention.
- prohibit decapitation or skull crushing as a means of abortion.
- permit the sale of bottle rockets to adults 18 and older.
- require legislators to certify that they have read bills before voting and set a review period for the public before the Legislature can act on a bill.
