This is an interesting thread. Spent a while just to read thru it. So here is one more thought.
People seem to have very polarized feelings fashioned from experiences as well as influence from others. A lot speak of individual rights which we should all strive to protect but forget to have these rights, laws and protections are in place and they hold all of us responsible. There are different divisions of law enforcement there to protect these responsibilities which in the end answer to the people. There are checks in place that make it possible if one feels wronged that they can pursue in order to affect change or have their grievance heard. If more people used them maybe the alleged abuses could be addressed. A lot of these stories I am sure there is more to them than what we are being told.
I for one have been checked many times in PA VT NY. Anywhere from sitting on my tail gate having lunch to walking to my tree stand. At all times I was very courteous and it was returned. Did it effect my hunt? Sure. Am I going to let it bother me? No as I know they are only doing the job they are hired to do and that is to protect our “privilege” to hunt. These guys have a very dangerous job. Are there very many times that a weapon of some sort isn’t present or involved?
Put yourself in this situation. You get a call telling you that there have been shots fired after dark in this area. You are driving thru the area and you hear a shot. You proceed forward and see tail lights go out of site in a bend of the road next to a big field. Lying next to the road is a deer dead from an apparent gun shot, looks like a large caliber from the hole. You leave the area and head in the direction the tail lights headed. Now you have lost sight of the vehicle but drive by a vehicle in a driveway where some one is walking thru their doorway with what appears to be a firearm, do you pursue or drive on?
How about you are hunting on a friends land and have been patterning this buck to the back 40. Area is posted but you have been having issue all season with trespassers. You have called the game warden and spoke with him as well as the owner doing the same, giving him a list of those with written permission. Now your rig is parked at an access point and the warden drives by and checks the plates. Yep you are ok to be there but he sees this person duck in about 100 yards up the road. Normally he could slip up and ask to see the persons license and ID but for some on here that is a violation of your personal freedoms, so the guy or gal sneaks in and arrows that buck you have worked so hard for, never to be seen again. As it stands now he could have stopped this person right there, checked the list and accessed if this person was allowed to be on this land or not and saved that buck so it could walk down the trail to you and prosecuted this violator.
Now I guess we can subscribe to the big brother principle and say this is a violation of personal freedoms and be able to with hold our names and ID. But isn’t that an obstruction of justice or hindering an investigation.
Saying they should lay out the very reason they stopped to check you could be hindering their investigation so after he leaves someone pops on the cell phone to alert John Smith that they are hot on his heels and he better get rid of the deer or the gun used as you bet someone tipped him off to your gangs possible involvement.
People who are doing the right thing and following the rules usually don’t have anything to worry about. He laid out very carefully some of the cues they look for in behavior. People who get their hackles up when they are around are going to get reflected back on them what they are putting out.