> Both sides of this issue, like any other, have rights proscribed by > existing law. Specialty laws that would apply to only one party or in such > a specific case are, in IMHO, clearly political or driven by special > interests. All laws are clearly political. Law is the code of conduct created by the political action of the people, at least in a republic. In this case though, I think the reg is being put forward to avoid the dangerous pursuit and harrasment games that many of the more extreme anti-whaling folks are willing to engage in. Safe navigation is the Coast Guard's responsibility; and its hard to come up with a good reason for penetrating such exclusions zones. Just like the exclusion zones around marine mammals to prevent people from continuously harrassing the populations into extinction; they are quite legal, and quite enforceable. Are these zones political? Yep. Are they driven by special interests? Yep. Are they a good thing. Probably Yep [I'm no biologist]. Now maybe, just maybe folks will behave in a legal and ethical manner; instead of terrorizing people engaged in a legal activity that they don't happen to agree with. Just as pro-lifers have to allow women access to clinics, anti-whalers are going to have to abide by similar restrictions in their behavior in order that these folks can participate in their legal right to hunt a few whales. We all have to abide by the laws that we like *AND* the laws that we don't like. If we lose the political fight over which laws govern us; then thats just to bad. Loosing the fight doesn't give you the right to violate the law. Richard Walker Houston, TX *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************Received on Wed Jul 29 1998 - 18:23:53 PDT
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