Jake: Why are lawmakers making it easier for bears to eat you?

One of my all-time favorite movies is The Great Outdoors with John Candy. He plays a family man taking his wife and kids on a nostalgic vacation in the woods—only to be terrorized (in a hilarious way) by a man-eating bear. As a kid, that grizzly scared the heck out of me because, well, bears are terrifying. Especially the ones that eat people!

Now, why bring up a movie from 1988? Because today I read about a new bill in our state that would make it easier for bears and other dangerous wildlife to eat you and your kids. Not a joke.

Senate Bill 1582, sponsored by Democrat Marko Liias (D-Mukilteo), would restrict local law enforcement from using dogs to hunt down these apex predators.

Instead, Liias wants every instance of tracking a dangerous animal with a dog to go through a bureaucratic approval process before officers can act. Because when a bear is stalking a neighborhood, nothing says “public safety” like government paperwork!

More from Jake: What if the pay-by-mile tax is really about speeding tickets?

Unleash the hounds!

Call me old-fashioned, but I say unleash the hounds!

I spend a lot of time hiking with my kids, and we love Washington’s beautiful outdoors. But the last thing I want to encounter on a trail is a hungry bear or cougar. If there’s a report of a dangerous predator lurking nearby, I want our local law enforcement empowered to handle it—immediately. I trust their discretion and expertise far more than some government desk jockey tying them in red tape.