Citizen-Times, July 8, 2014

Get the lead out of North Carolina ammunition
By Russell McSpadden

As a lifelong hunter, I value wilderness not only as a place of beauty and recreation but as an important source of food for my family. So I am disturbed that North Carolina U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan, is trying to block efforts to protect our families and wildlife from preventable lead poisoning caused by toxic lead ammunition. Sen. Hagan is co-sponsoring Senate bill 2363, the poorly titled “Bipartisan Sportsmen’s Act of 2014,” which is designed to prevent the Environmental Protection Agency from enforcing federal regulations intended to protect us from this risk. As the father of a young child I’m keenly aware that lead poisoning severely affects mental and physical development and can be fatal. For that reason, we’ve gotten toxic lead out of our paint, gasoline and water pipes. But lead is still poisoning wildlife and entering the food chain from the approximately 3,000 tons of lead shot into the environment every year. It doesn’t have to be so. Non-toxic alternatives are readily available. I urge North Carolinians to tell Sen. Hagan to consider our health first and to stop blocking efforts to keep our environment free of toxic lead ammunition. Our wildlife and our kids deserve better.

Russell McSpadden
Hot Springs, North Carolina

© 2014 www.courier-journal.com.

This article originally appeared here.