Difficult as it is to be both right and wrong about an issue, some politicians are adept at it. Such was my conclusion after reading legislation proposed at the Capitol by Sen. Jen McEwen, DFL-Duluth, and Rep. Patty Acomb, DFL-Minnetonka, that would ban lead used by target shooters, hunters and anglers. Thriving high school trapshooters would be particularly affected.

Since the days of Izaak Walton — who died in 1683 — anglers have used lead to help sink their fishing hooks to depths inhabited by targeted fish. Bullets, meanwhile, made from lead were first developed in the 1400s.

In the centuries since, particularly during the Industrial Revolution (1760-1840), lead has been identified as toxic to people, especially those who work in and around it for extended periods.

Today, various state and national laws and regulations govern lead's use, including for sporting purposes. Since 1991, for example, lead has been banned for waterfowl hunting throughout the United States. No health hazard to hunters has been alleged. Instead, the concern is that spent shot-shell pellets deposited in wetlands can be ingested by ducks, loons and other waterfowl, killing them.

In recent decades in Minnesota, various additional legislative proposals and/or administrative regulations have been offered to ban certain lead sinkers and other fishing tackle and to further reduce lead's use in hunting.

Most of these suggestions have gone nowhere, and some of the failings are unfortunate. In my view, lead shot shells should be banned on state wildlife management areas for pheasant and other upland hunting, as they are for waterfowl hunting. And a strong case can be made that to protect eagles, crows, ravens, wolves, coyotes and other critters that feast on deer gut piles left by hunters, the use of lead rifle bullets should be strongly discouraged, and perhaps banned.

In opposing the tackle ban, the state's fishing industry manufacturers in part have argued they can't afford to produce nontoxic tackle for Minnesota while also building lead tackle for other states. Further restrictions on lead ammunition also have run into industry roadblocks, despite possible threats to human health. Evidence exists, for example, that lead bullets used for deer hunting can fragment upon impact into imperceptible pieces, increasing the chances venison is tainted by lead.

Into this milieu come McEwen and Acomb and their lead-banning bill (SF 3792/HF 3813), which, to mix metaphors a bit, throws out not just one baby with the bath water but entire nurseries.

Condensed, the bill:

In attempting to do so much with so little explanation, this bill likely will self-destruct — setting back for years, unfortunately, more legitimate attempts to limit lead's uses in Minnesota.

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