Laying Down Law for Sportsmen

Vermont had it right along.

Now, nearly 240 years later, other states are trying to protect the rights of their hunters and fishermen.The legislatures in eight states -- Alabama, Indiana, Michigan, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and West Virginia -- are considering constitutional amendments to protect hunting and fishing rights. Alabama already has such legislation on the books but is considering a more expansive one.

Vermont included such rights in Article 67 of its original constitution, which was first ratified in 1777, while the Revolutionary War raged and a full 14 years before Vermont was admitted into the Union. It states, “That the inhabitants of...