Tip for Politicians: Don’t Hold Press Conferences Celebrating Deer You Shot Illegally

–Chad Love

An Oklahoma lawmaker was so proud of the rare piebald deer he shot that he called a press conference to announce it. Only problem was, that rare piebald deer was, in point of fact, illegal to shoot. Can I get a “DOH!”?

From this AP story:
_A state legislator who helped write some of Oklahoma’s hunting laws was so proud when he bagged a piebald, white-tailed deer that he called the media and gushed about the hunt. But his pride turned to embarrassment when state Rep. Terry Harrison was told what he did might have been illegal because he didn’t have a permit to shoot the animal. The McAlester News-Capital reports that Harrison’s friend, Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation game warden Shane Fields, called him after seeing the story in the newspaper and suggested he research hunting regulations. Harrison says his heart “just sunk” when he realized his mistake. He called the agency and a game warden wrote him a $296 ticket. Harrison says he wrote some of the state’s hunting laws and should’ve known better.
_
Uh, yeah. Probably should have known better…