Below the fold, an editorial in Field & Stream (on their website) takes Cheney to task for not admitting his mistake. The writer tells Dick to 'fess up "the sooner the better," and gives the lie to the Administration spin that the victim is to blame for getting himself shot because he didn't follow some sort of Texas protocol. "The onus," he writes, "is on everyone who carries a gun not to shoot at anyone else."
This is a great opportunity for us to let some conservation voters feel the love for standing up for what's right. Hunters and fisherman often care a great deal about the preservation of wilderness for recreational purposes, and could be a natural constituency for Democrats. They don't always feel welcome in our tent, though. Here's a chance to reach out to them and let them know we think alike, at least on some issues.
EDITORIAL: The Cheney hunting accident: a Texan's view of the so-called "Texas hunting protocol"
Doug Pike is a Field & Stream contributing editor who covers the outdoors for the Houston Chronicle. Here's what he has to say about reports suggesting that bird hunters in Texas follow different gun safety rules than bird hunters anywhere else.
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Upland bird hunters everywhere knew exactly what had happened when word spread this past weekend that Vice President Dick Cheney shot a quail-hunting companion in South Texas, but some media reports made it sound as if the victim were to blame.
A quail flushed. Vice President Cheney swung his 28-gauge shotgun on the bird and tugged the trigger. His 78-year-old buddy, Austin attorney Harry Whittington, took a piece of the shot string in the upper body and face. Luckily, they were about 30 yards apart, far enough that pinhead-sized quail shot did minimal damage.
Reports from the owner of the ranch where the VP was hunting that Whittington violated some sort of ``Texas protocol'' requiring hunters to make formal announcement of their comings and goings in the field were a bit misleading. Everywhere that upland birds are hunted, the drill is pretty much the same. It makes sense to let other hunters know when you're moving to the left or right, or that you're back after visiting a nearby tree, but there's no requirement to do so. The onus is on everyone who carries a gun not to shoot at anyone else.
Cheney shot another hunter. Sooner better than later, he should own up to his mistake.
-Doug Pike