The detecting rights website is very confusing. If anyone knows the admin, you may want to get it cleaned up and easier to send a form letter for the general public. Just a thought, if you want the whole communities assistance.
Anyhow, I am not from your state, but this is what I sent.
Dear Representatives,
I am a member of the Responsible Metal Detecting Community and I am sending this email in support of the metal detector hobbyists of the great State of Kentucky. I am a citizen of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania where nearly all of our State Parks and County Parks are open to metal detecting. Most of the parks require permits and limit the ways in which you can retrieve items such that destruction of public lands are avoided. Also, there are rules on what may be kept and what must be turned in to a Park Ranger. These rules are in place so as to protect the parks, any historical finds and valuable personal property. These rules allow the parks to be utilized by every citizen of the state.
It is my personal belief that HB 352 would be a positive step for the State of Kentucky, allowing all citizens to enjoy their public parks. We do not consider metal detecting to be a negative activity for the profit hungry "looters" as the archealogical community would lead you to believe. For my family, it is the top activity outdoors. Too many children today spend all their time in front of a television set instead of being outdoors enjoying our natural and public resources.
I would like to voice my support on behalf of the citizens of Kentucky and HB 352, (SB 105 (BR 1240) an Act introduced by D. Seum and P. Hornback in the Senate).
As a hobbyist community, We implore that you, the representatives of the citizens of the State of Kentucky, protect our rights to enjoy the legal and healthful pastime of Recreational and Responsible Metal Detecting, and would like to counter some of the myths you may have heard from the opposition.
There are special interest groups that will have you believe that we are destroying history for our own profit, removing them from the collective history of the Commonwealth. But they do not tell you the side effects of their policy.
Existing laws are condemning the hand-crafted, metallic artifacts of the Commonwealth of Kentucky to the ravages of time.
Metallic artifacts are transient, that is, they degrade rather quickly when exposed to the soil or weather. Iron, Brass, Bronze and Copper artifacts have a very limited lifetime and are soon reclaimed by nature, damaged or covered by development or erosion, or simply thrown away with trash or topsoil.
Metal detectorists are excellent stewards of public lands. We leave land in better condition than before we arrived, removing trash, filling holes, and reporting illegal activity to authorities.
It's true...Archaeological / Preservation interests are able excavate and preserve a small percentage, but the vast majority will be lost. We consider this "looting by legislation" and is an unacceptable way to treat these items. The items are gone, as is their historical context.
We support the rigorous study of the Commonwealth of Kentucky by qualified educational institutions and will often provide our voluntary services to assist them if our skills are helpful.
Metallic artifacts were crafted by the hands of our ancestors. They reflect the sensibilities, limited resources and aesthetics shared among those who were part of Kentucky's history. Their construction reflects the ingenuity and time required to take limited resources and improve their lives, feed their family or even fight for their beliefs.
Historical context is important to us, too.
With assistance and education from archaeologists, we are willing to share in the cataloging of important artifacts found on public lands. Together we can contribute to the data set which describes our history.
Many of our finds end up in historic / educational institutions where the public can enjoy them
Sharing and donating our finds is common in our hobby. Museums and historical foundations are filled with educational assets provided by amateur detectorists. In the United Kingdom, metal detectorists are credited with saving the history of that ancient land.
Don't believe the myths. We are not looters out for profit.
If you would like more information about Metal Detecting, you can go to the web site of the national non profit foundation that supports our hobby. there you can review our "Code of Ethics" for Metal Detectorists, and other informative material:
http://detectingrights.com/
Please support the members of your constituancy, and citizens throughout the great state of Kentucky.
Thank you,