News
Anti-Dove Shooting Group Wants AG's Help
Anti-Dove Shooting Group Wants
AG's Help
Published June 2, 2006.
The Committee to Restore the Dove Shooting Ban, an anti-dove hunting group, is asking the Attorney General to look at the way their opposition is raising money to pay for advertising that would promote dove shooting.
Apparently, Citizens for Wildlife Conservation (CWC), the group that is asking voters to affirm legislation that would overturn the state's 100-year-old ban on shooting morning doves, has organized a sweepstakes to raise advertising money.
Sweepstakes tickets are sold to buyers for a chance to win prizes including 40 acres of land or $20,000 in cash. The money CWC raises through the sweepstakes will go toward paying for advertising to encourage voters to vote for legalizing dove hunting in November.
The Web site clearly states that the money will be used for the advertising campaign, however, the Committee to Restore the Dove Shooting Ban wants the Attorney General's office to check the legality of the sweepstakes.
The group claims that state law prohibits all state lotteries that are not sanctioned by the state. The group referred to the CWC sweepstakes as a lottery.
"This lottery is clearly illegal," said Mike Hodge, an attorney representing the group. "The law expressly prohibits sweepstakes of this sort from being used to finance ballot proposal campaigns and that's just what the CWC is doing. We hope that Attorney General Mike Cox will put a stop to these criminal activities."
The group also claims state law "expressly forbids the operation of lotteries to support or defeat a ballot proposal."
The state Lottery Commission said it doesn't have jurisdiction over this issue because it only controls bingos, raffles and millionaire parties that are put together by certified non-profit organizations.
AG Spokesman Nate Bailey said the AG's office would review the request. Bailey didn't know if the request was even in the AG's authority, but said the AG's Alcohol and Gambling Division would look into it.
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