Cliven Bundy Takes On The Government Again, Pushing For States’ Rights And Less BLM Power

Cliven Bundy, a Nevada rancher and states’ rights activist, traveled to the statehouse to once again take on the government. The 69-year-old rancher first garnered national attention last spring when his battle with the Bureau of Land Managmenet (BLM) came to a head. The BLM owns significant, or even the majority, of land in multiple western states.

As previously reported by the Inquisitr, heavily armed federal agents have converged on Clark County, Nevada to stop the grazing of cattle on public lands. The standoff has been brewing for decades and only one rancher still remained in the very expensive fight. Cliven Bundy has likened the fight against the federal government in support of both individual rights and states’ rights to the Ruby Ridge and Waco tragedies.

Clark County is in the southern region of Nevada. Bundy is in defiance of a 2013 court order which demands he remove his cattle from U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Land Management. His family has grazed the 600,000 public land since the 1800’s.

Cliven Bundy’s visit to the state capitol was a part of an effort to voice his opinion on Nevada AB 408. The legislation was introduced by Republican state Assemblywoman Michele Fiore. The bill has become a primary focus for land and water advocacy groups and ranchers. “For too long, we’ve allowed the federal government to run over us like we’re nothing,” Bundy told supporters. “Well, we’re not gonna be nothing no more.”

At least one busload of supporters from the Las Vegas area also went to the Nevada statehouse to call for the BLM to release their hold on approximately 85 percent of the land in Western states. Doing so would permit increased public and private access to hunting, fishing, hiking, and grazing, according to Bundy supporters and Western residents concerned about the amount of land under BLM control.

“Bill 408 goes farther than even the most extreme bill we’ve seen so far — and we’re tracking 37 like bills in 11 Western states,” Center for Western Priorities, a nonpartisan representative Jessica Goad, said.

https://youtu.be/fIfppZ4JzuA

Excerpt from a Nevada AB 408 statement by Cliven Bundy’s wife, Carol Bundy:

“Our lands and resources are being locked up by the federal government, they can not be trusted to manage these lands. Their intent is to remove the users from the land including the general public. Once the users are no longer able to benefit from the land they will not fight for it and these agencies will be able to fully claim it for their own benefit. They will be able to control the resources and therefore control the people. Call me a radical, but I believe this is the number one concern in America today. If we lose the use of the resources then we lose the power to live without permission from someone else.”

Some of the folks concerned about the BLM land control issue are concerned that the United Nations Agenda 21 plan could be playing a role in real estate issue which appears to be impacting ranchers and farmers in the West. What do you think about the Cliven Bundy trip to the statehouse to make his voice heard on Nevada AB 408?

[Image by: George Frey/Getty Images]