We opponents of hunting-related gunfire on Deer Lagoon and other densely populated wetlands of Island County have stated our case repeatedly on these pages and in public hearings. We very strongly feel our case is compelling.

America’s founding fathers realized that unchecked power leads to tyranny. To protect our freedoms, they provided a strong system of checks and balances in the Constitution. The reason we are forced to appeal to higher levels of government is that county governments do not provide effective checks and balances against county executives in our state. County commissioners are not even required by law to check the legality of proposed ordinances with their county prosecutors. What’s a citizen to do?

You might reply, tough! You lost! Deal with it! I can only respond that our county commissioners have made a judgment that hunting on Deer Lagoon carries an acceptable risk. Acceptable to those three gentlemen, maybe, but they are not the ones endangered.

We who face this risk simply by standing in our own yards, minding our business, should be the ones to decide what degree of risk is “acceptable.” My judgment is that absolutely no risk is acceptable when it is imposed on the unwilling by a very small group of self-interested people pursuing a mere hobby. Waterfowl hunting isn’t the moral equivalent of war, it’s the moral equivalent of tiddly-winks.

We seek remedy. We seek justice. If we can’t find it on the local level, we will look for it where we may. To protect your family and property, you would do no less.

Paul Thompson, MD

Deer Lagoon