Dove Bill -- so here's what happened...

As we are all aware, on June 18, 2004, Governor Jennifer M. Granholm SIGNED the bill to remove our mourning doves' protected songbird status and allow the shooting of them in Michigan. Her sad choice to serve a fringe faction has betrayed voters and she knowingly has ignored the majority of Michigan citizens. Contrary to any "compromise" or "trial" spin she may attempt to put on it, the technically flawed and purposefully divisive Act (PA 160) opens the entire state of Michigan to dove "hunting" indefinitely.

Before the Governor signed the dove bill, 14,522 citizens had contacted the governor's office and asked her to veto, 7,150 asked her to sign it. The Songbird Protection Coalition had also sent 10,000+ petition signatures, more than twice as many as dove shooting proponents could provide. Hundreds - and hundreds - of letters to the editor were published in newspapers across the state favoring the continued protection of the mourning dove as a songbird. Every poll conducted in Michigan, recently and historically, confirmed the majority opposed the change in public policy. See more of what happened here http://savethedoves.com/news/news_063004.html

See what the press has to say here http://www.savethedoves.org/news/news_062304.html and here http://www.savethedoves.org/news.html

WHAT YOU CAN DO:

If you contributed to Jennifer Granholm's campaign due to her promise to veto any dove hunting bill, you may request a return of your campaign contribution if you so desire. According to several Michigan citizens, they are receiving a "refund." You may send your request to:

Lindsay Mutch, Compliance Director
Granholm for Governor Committee
P.O. Box 17127
Lansing, MI 48901
(phone)   517-485-5100  (fax) 517-485-4683

Inside Michigan Politics, Bill Ballenger

Excerpt: "There continues to be a spirit of meanness abroad, both in Lansing and in Washington.  The situation is certainly not helped in Lansing by . . . Susan Tabor's dove bill (I hope the governor vetoes it)." -- Former Governor William G. Milliken, in a June 17 letter to State Rep. John Stewart (R-Plymouth). 
 

"As it turned out, Gov. Jennifer Granholm collapsed like a paper mache tree stand, breaking her long-standing edge not to sign Tabor's legislation unless it included language requiring a statewide vote.  In terms of realpolitik, however, Granholm made the right call -- she calculated that the state's bird lovers are powerless to make her pay politically for her treachery." -- Inside Michigan Politics (July 19, 2004)

WHAT DO YOU THINK MICHIGAN? Do you want the mourning dove to be protected as a traditional songbird in Michigan? Please let us know how you feel! Email your comments to position@savethedoves.org

More news, information, and updates available at http://www.SaveTheDoves.org