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I think we have had this discussion recently, but of course the law is over broad. It was designed to be, and that is the only reason it was ever effective. It was written to be so broad for evidentiary reasons. The chances of a law enforcement official being able to tell, much less prove, how a feather was obtained are generally slim to none, so the law says don't worry about that, lets make all feather gathering (without a permit and with a few exceptions) illegal. It should also be remembered that the basic reason for the law was to help stem the killing of birds for the use of their feathers in the millinery business. Today there is probably little use of real feathers by milliners, but the law is still used, at least occasionally, to assist in prosecution of people who are (or ate least suspected of) poaching, harassing or killing wild animals. Technically, the law also prohibits people who find a feather on the street or lake side from keeping it, and some would say they shouldn't and that it is a good lesson in leaving nature as we find it. But as a practical matter, there is very little risk if they do. I have never heard of anybody getting prosecuted for that kind of innocent transgression, and I would be very surprised if they do. Many, if not most, of our laws are very capable of being applied overbroadly -- though perhaps not to this extent. We generally rely on the good common sense of law enforcement officials to enforce the law in the sense that it was intended and for the much greater part they do so. So unless one wants to abandon the law altogether, and weaken law enforcement against those who prey on wild animals, then it really is necessary to keep it overbroad. As for tax forms, I assume these are income tax forms, and alas, complexity is inherent in any income tax system. Its far easier to use one of the computer programs to do it. Eric Jeffrey Falls Church, VA -------------------------------1066235087 Content-Type: text/html; charset="US-ASCII" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable <HTML><HEAD> <META charset=3DUTF-8 http-equiv=3DContent-Type content=3D"text/html; charse= t=3Dutf-8"> <META content=3D"MSHTML 6.00.2716.2200" name=3DGENERATOR></HEAD> <BODY style=3D"FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; BACKGROUND-COLOR: #fffff= f"> <DIV>I think we have had this discussion recently, but of course the law is=20= over broad. It was designed to be, and that is the only reason it was=20= ever effective. It was written to be so broad for evidentiary reasons.= The chances of a law enforcement official being able to tell, much le= ss prove, how a feather was obtained are generally slim to none, so the law=20= says don't worry about that, lets make all feather gathering (without a perm= it and with a few exceptions) illegal. It should also be remembered th= at the basic reason for the law was to help stem the killing of birds for th= e use of their feathers in the millinery business.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Today there is probably little use of real feathers by milliners, but t= he law is still used, at least occasionally, to assist in prosecution of peo= ple who are (or ate least suspected of) poaching, harassing or killing wild=20= animals. Technically, the law also prohibits people who find a feather= on the street or lake side from keeping it, and some would say they shouldn= 't and that it is a good lesson in leaving nature as we find it. But a= s a practical matter, there is very little risk if they do. I have nev= er heard of anybody getting prosecuted for that kind of innocent transgressi= on, and I would be very surprised if they do. Many, if not most, of ou= r laws are very capable of being applied overbroadly -- though perhaps not t= o this extent. We generally rely on the good common sense of law enfor= cement officials to enforce the law in the sense that it was intended and fo= r the much greater part they do so.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>So unless one wants to abandon the law altogether, and weaken law enfor= cement against those who prey on wild animals, then it really is necessary t= o keep it overbroad.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>As for tax forms, I assume these are income tax forms, and alas, comple= xity is inherent in any income tax system. Its far easier to use one o= f the computer programs to do it.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Eric Jeffrey </DIV> <DIV>Falls Church, VA</DIV></BODY></HTML> -------------------------------1066235087--
