Dovesong

This chapter describes the mourning dove's funerary dirge. For the first time in nearly a century, open season has been declared on the dove. Amendments fail to outlaw the lead bullet or set the kill zone back from homes. The chief executive signs the bill in the company of lobbyists from the National Rifle Association. These five ounces of meat with wings are purported to bring seven million dollars into governmental coffers. Ultimately, forty-one of fifty states favor open season on the dove of mourning, making them, in effect, sitting ducks. The chapter then explores how the debate over open season on the mourning dove heralds the coming of the culture wars.