Section 1: Purpose
The purpose of this Act is to ensure that all federal, state, and local government personnel, including game wardens, comply with the Second and Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution and the Bill of Rights when performing their duties enforcing federal and state laws, wildlife and conservation laws, balancing the public trust in wildlife resources with the fundamental privacy and liberty protections guaranteed to all citizens.
Section 2: Definitions
(a) “Game Warden” refers to any federal, state, or local officer tasked with enforcing wildlife, conservation, or natural resource laws.
(b) “Warrantless Search” includes any search or seizure conducted without a judicially approved warrant based on probable cause.
(c) “Private Property” includes all lands, dwellings, and curtilage owned or lawfully occupied by a person, to include privately owned open fields, excluding public lands.
(d) “Reasonable Articulable Suspicion” means specific, objective facts that a reasonable officer would believe indicate a crime has been, is being, or is about to be committed.
Section 3: Prohibition on Warrantless Searches
(a) No game warden or other government personnel shall conduct a warrantless search of private property, vehicles, or personal effects to enforce wildlife or conservation laws, except as provided in subsection (b).
(b) Exceptions: A warrantless search is permissible only if:
(1) The individual provides voluntary, informed consent, free from coercion; or
(2) Exigent circumstances exist, such as immediate danger to human life or the imminent destruction of evidence, and probable cause is present.
(c) The “Open Fields Doctrine” and “Administrative Search Exception” shall not justify warrantless searches by game wardens or other personnel under this Act, as these doctrines undermine Fourth Amendment protections in the context of modern privacy expectations.
Section 4: Constitutional Compliance by All Government Entities
(a) No federal, state, or local government agency, department, or personnel, including but not limited to game wardens, is exempt from complying with the United States Constitution and the Bill of Rights, including the Second Amendment’s protections to keep and bear arms as well as the Fourth Amendment’s protections against unreasonable searches and seizures.
(b) Any state or federal law, regulation, or policy predating or conflicting with this Act, including those granting game wardens authority to bypass constitutional protections, is hereby superseded to the extent of such conflict.
Section 5: Prohibition on Disarming Citizens Without Reasonable Suspicion
(a) No government official, including game wardens, shall disarm a citizen prior to arrest for officer safety or any other purpose unless the official has reasonable articulable suspicion, based on specific and objective facts, that the citizen has committed, is committing, or is about to commit a crime.
(b) This section does not prohibit disarming pursuant to a lawful arrest supported by probable cause or during the execution of a judicially approved warrant.
(c ) Disarming a citizen without sufficient legal cause is grounds to revoke the law enforcement or game wardens certification by a state POST board or equivalent.
Section 6: Enforcement and Remedies
(a) Any violation of this Act constitutes a violation of the Fourth Amendment, actionable under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 or other applicable federal laws.
(b) Evidence obtained through unlawful searches or seizures under this Act shall be inadmissible in any criminal or civil proceeding.
(c) Citizens may seek injunctive relief to prevent ongoing or threatened violations of this Act.
Section 7: Severability
If any provision of this Act is found unconstitutional or otherwise invalid, the remaining provisions shall remain in full force and effect.
Section 8: Effective Date
This Act shall take effect 90 days after its passage into law.