MS Voters Approve Hunting Rights Proposal

Mississippi voters Tuesday approved a proposal to enshrine hunting and fishing as rights in the state's constitution.

The issue was placed on the ballot at the urging of hunting groups and lawmakers concerned about animal rights groups' campaigns in other parts of the country against hunting game.  Animal rights groups reject those claims.

According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, the constitutions of 17 states guarantee the right to hunt and fish.

Vermont's language dates to 1777, while the rest have been adopted since 1996.

Those states are Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

California and Rhode Island have guarantees on the right to fish, but not to hunt.