rights at risk

[BuckleBoy]

Not finger pointing and not kicking the dirt in the archies faces....just telling you I have read more about bad detectorists than bad archies in the newspapers and heard on TV. And agrees there are bad apples on both sides.

Have any of you watched the WWATS 2009 State Of The Hobby videos posted on youtube In the 5th section, the speaker talks about making up a folder of the good that detectorists have done in your area. Articles in the paper on rings returned, club members cleaning up different areas, pictures of some of the dangerous items found in park areas, etc....etc....
I started up a folder like that for the detecting club I am in, some months ago.
If and when the time comes to meet with different officials and talk about detecting and trying to get spots re-open, or keep spots from getting closed, the club and metal detectorists in general, will have some positive "ammunition" to show them.

Excellent for you, and you are helping all of us by doing this as well. I know you see the futility of finger-pointing here--especially in a Public setting (i.e., not only us detectorists are viewing this thread right now).

I don't hunt parks. I haven't in years. (I like finding the Good finds ) But what I'd like to see is something constructive come out of all of this, for the good of all of us. And since I detect too, I have a stake in the reputation, credibility, and public perception of the hobby I love.

This discussion is bigger and more important than just getting a park re-opened.

 

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[Tomas Frijole]

As far as rights go, we have precious few. There is no right to drive a car, driving is a privilege issued by the state, in the form of a license.

We are supposed to have the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, and even those rights that are guaranteed by the constitution still come with many restrictions.

Sometimes civil disobedience is the only answer, but get caught and you pay the price.

If we expect our hobby to last into the future, something is going to have to be done sooner or later that will insure it's survival, most likely it will be done in the form of licensing, carrying certain restrictions. Or else it will be banned altogether.


GG~


Isn't that amazing, what are rights and what are not. Drinking if you are of legal age is a right, that can only be taken from you as part of a probation or parole. You can have the worst driving drinking record in history, can't drive but can buy and consume all you like. Then get unrational and go out for another drunk driving run. To this day I do not understand why they just don't suspend your right to drink verses your privilage to drive.

Oh ya, booze sales are the states 3rd largest revenue! If you had to declare and pay taxes on your finds the states would be running shuttles to get you to the parks and historic areas.

 

[Goodyguy]

And as I stated, I am all for having a permit system, but just to be fair, everyone else should have to get one for their activity too, Frisbee throwing, kite flying, sledding, horseshoes, badminton, hiking, picnicking, etc. If not, then yes metal detecting is being discriminated against those other public use of the park activities.


GG~

Do frisbee throwers Remove part of the park and take it home with them or sell it? How about the kite flyers? Do the sledders use a non-renewable resource, or will it snow again next year too? How about all the other hobbies you mentioned? Do they remove park property? Do the father and daughter playing "catch" there sell tickets for a profit? Are lost coins considered park property? Who do they belong to, GG? You see, this is a complicated question! I'm playing devil's advocate here, but none of the other legal hobbies in a park take anything away from the park or deplete a non-renewable resource. They are not "extractive" like ours. So No, detectorists are Not being discriminated against.


-Buck

I know you are playing devils advocate and I do not take your remarks personally.

Frisbee throwing is a dangerous sport believe it or not, Kite flying ruins the look of a park when they get caught in trees, Sledders tear up the turf worse than anyone, In fact everything I mentioned in my other post is capable of doing some sort of turf damage. Well maybe not picnicking, but that often creates litter.

How can you say lost change is not a renewable resource?
Any thing I find by Md'ing in the park is completely renewable. People loose stuff every day that's how it got there in the first place. I don't remove park property I recover lost metal objects found in public parks that would never have been recovered otherwise. Anything of significant value that can be identified gets turned in.

Yes we are being discriminated against. Just because our hobby removes lost objects that would otherwise never be recovered doesn't mean we aren't being discriminated against. If you do not believe our hobby is being discriminated against then you need a dictionary. We have been metal detecting in the parks for more than 20 years. Now all of a sudden they are becoming off limits to our kind. Our hobby is being discriminated against pure and simple.

GG~

 

[thrillathahunt]

I think ( and thank God we can still think and express our thoughts in this country) that some of you should seriously consider taking up a different hobby.

I really mean this.

A hobby should not be a constant source of anxiety. It should not be something that causes pangs of doubt or fear. Let's face it, it really takes a certain "type" of person to do this, and I think there are those on this site that would probably have more joy pursuing another pastime.

 

[RGINN]

This is a complicated issue, I guess. State parks in Oklahoma were established by the legislature for the enjoyment and recreation of Oklahomans with no intent of making a profit. I can pretty much detect in all of them with no problem if I talk to the park manager first. I worked as a Park Ranger in Oklahoma for 7 years and only once saw an incident involving a metal detector that I had to stop. Maybe we should start inviting our legislators out on hunts. Maybe like me, they'll think it's really cool when you get a hit, and pull up something that's been lost for years and hidden from sight, regardless of the value.

 

[Goodyguy]

If our rights are at risk...... could someone smarter than me, tachfully write a letter that WE could All copy and send to our congressmen. I would like to think if EVERYONE on the site would copy the letter, and send it to there representative. maybe someone might look into keepin some freedoms for this hobby. maybe,, what do yall think

Eldorado Your question was a good one as you can see from all the posts it has generated.

I really do not believe that anyone could write a letter that we all would agree on. No matter how tactfully it was written. I do not think everyone would even agree that one needs to be written for that matter.

Most here are talkers not doers. When it comes to actually getting out and working to save the hobby that's when the excuses start flying.

I am pretty sure most will just wait until all the public land is closed to metal detecting and then start pointing the finger at someone else and say it was all their fault.

GG~

 

[lostcauses]

True.

If our rights are at risk...... could someone smarter than me, tachfully write a letter that WE could All copy and send to our congressmen. I would like to think if EVERYONE on the site would copy the letter, and send it to there representative. maybe someone might look into keepin some freedoms for this hobby. maybe,, what do yall think

Eldorado Your question was a good one as you can see from all the posts it has generated.

I really do not believe that anyone could write a letter that we all would agree on. No matter how tactfully it was written. I do not think everyone would even agree that one needs to be written for that matter.

Most here are talkers not doers. When it comes to actually getting out and working to save the hobby that's when the excuses start flying.

I am pretty sure most will just wait until all the public land is closed to metal detecting and then start pointing the finger at someone else and say it was all their fault.

GG~

 

[Dimeman]

I think ( and thank God we can still think and express our thoughts in this country) that some of you should seriously consider taking up a different hobby.

I really mean this.

A hobby should not be a constant source of anxiety. It should not be something that causes pangs of doubt or fear. Let's face it, it really takes a certain "type" of person to do this, and I think there are those on this site that would probably have more joy pursuing another pastime.

I detect because I enjoy being outdoors relaxing while picking up the spare coins/jewelry that I find. It was my choice to choose this hobby almost 40 years ago. If I choose to not detect any more it will be my choice.

There are many types and forms of discrimination. For the gov't to tell a group of people they may not use certain public places-is pure discrimination.

 

[Dimeman]

If our rights are at risk...... could someone smarter than me, tachfully write a letter that WE could All copy and send to our congressmen. I would like to think if EVERYONE on the site would copy the letter, and send it to there representative. maybe someone might look into keepin some freedoms for this hobby. maybe,, what do yall think

Eldorado Your question was a good one as you can see from all the posts it has generated.

I really do not believe that anyone could write a letter that we all would agree on. No matter how tactfully it was written. I do not think everyone would even agree that one needs to be written for that matter.

Most here are talkers not doers. When it comes to actually getting out and working to save the hobby that's when the excuses start flying.

I am pretty sure most will just wait until all the public land is closed to metal detecting and then start pointing the finger at someone else and say it was all their fault.

GG~

This was written and printed in a local weekly paper. It is to the county commissioner of one of the precincts that prohibits metal detecting, here in the county parks.. The news paper in the next weeks edition printed some postitive responses from some readers and a "damage control" letter from the county commissioners office. Also a petiton was sent to the county commissioner with over 350 signatures, and also another newspaper has a blog page about the ban and the commissioners response to it.
We still can't detect in the county parks...but at least something was tried, and the officials now know there are more than just a handfull who are in the hobby.

 

[Goodyguy]

Wow that is an awesome article

I believe a variation of that article along with other positive pieces about our hobby would make quite an impact on public officials opinion of us, especially if it also included the fact that there are literally *millions of respectable metal detecting enthusiasts across the country who enjoy this hobby as recreation.

* does anyone know how many? Millions, hundreds of thousands, tens of thousands?

What if we started keeping an online scrap book of all the positive newspaper clippings that show what metal detectorists have done for the community. Such as helping people find lost valuables. returning found class rings, helping police at crime scenes, etc. Then we could access it when needed to use it for our cause.

We could start by having our local newspapers write up our own stories of interest that show what we have done to warrant recognition. Such as helping Archaeologists do field work, donating articles to museums, returning class rings, etc.

And by doing research to find already published stories of good deeds to add to the forum in the meantime.

Perhaps Marc would create a forum just for placement of positive press clippings concerning our hobby.
Does anyone else see this as a good idea?



GG~

I am shopping a version of this idea to see what interest it generates, not wanting to hijack this thread.
http://forum.treasurenet.com/index.php/topic,264214.0.html

 

[thrillathahunt]

I think that is a great idea!