Felonious Hunting

This is troubling, but probably not for the reason that the reporter wants me to be troubled. 

Dozens of convicted felons in Wisconsin were issued gun deer hunting licenses in 2006 despite a state law that bans them for life from possessing firearms.

The state, meanwhile, does not prohibit felons from buying gun hunting licenses and makes no effort to monitor if felons are purchasing them, the Journal Sentinel found.

[...]

In response to questions from the Journal Sentinel, Rep. Terry Musser (R-Black River Falls) said he plans to draft a bill next month that would mandate background checks of all firearm hunting license applicants. The bill would include penalties for felons who are found to have purchased licenses.

Honestly, it doesn’t really bother me that we don’t check to see if someone is a felon before getting a hunting license.  Yes, it’s illegal for them to do and if they are caught hunting, then they should be punished.  But I don’t see an increased danger to society from the fact that some felons are hunting and it doesn’t seem that the cost to check every applicant’s criminal record would outweigh the societal benefit.  It’s not like the lack of a hunting license is going to keep a gun out of the hands of a felon who wants to kill someone. 

On the other hand, I am not keen on the clerk at Fleet Farm doing a background check on me when I’m buying my hunting license.  It’s far too intrusive.