Drizzt
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The Associated Press State & Local Wire
May 29, 2003, Thursday, BC cycle
SECTION: State and Regional
LENGTH: 706 words
HEADLINE: The Legislature takes on archery-minded youths
BYLINE: By JOEL STASHENKO, Associated Press Writer
DATELINE: ALBANY, N.Y.
BODY:
Sure, 2.5 million people who live in rent-regulated apartments are looking to the state Capitol for action this spring.
And there are the tens of thousands of chemically contaminated commercial sites that still need to be cleaned up. And hundreds of inmates facing at least 15 years in state prison for first-time drug busts are seeking relief from the harsh Rockefeller Drug Laws.
But the state Senate spent its longest time in debate this week on a bill to let 12- and 13-year-olds hunt for bear, deer and other "big game" with a bow and arrow.
Frivolous?
Yes and no. Though the bill itself would affect relatively few young archers, the debate over the measure underscored yet again what a diverse body the Legislature is and, by extension, how varied New York is, from Grand Central Station in Manhattan to Grand Island outside Buffalo.
Currently, 14 is the minimum age that youths in New York can legally hunt with a bow, provided they pass an approved safety course and hunt with an adult. The legislation would continue the same safety and supervision provisions for 12- and 13-year-old archers.
Sen. Liz Krueger provoked a cordial, but at times sharp, debate by questioning the wisdom of turning hunters so young loose in the woods and fields with a weapon. She cited statistics on hunting accidents involving young people, though she conceded the data contained injuries from both bow-and-arrow and firearm accidents.
"When you're in the woods hunting, there are guns around that often get shot," she argued. "Twelve and 13-year-olds don't have maturity to be out in the woods hunting bear or deer, whether with guns or bows and arrows ... I hope that parents out there realize that they shouldn't let 12- and 13-year-olds hunt, even if it becomes the law of New York state."
Krueger was sure to get a rise out of many of her colleagues with such comments. The Senate is controlled by Republicans, mostly from Long Island and upstate New York, and it contains several avid sportsmen.
Krueger was doubly bound to spark a debate because she is a Democrat from Manhattan and clearly no fan of hunting.
Sen. Carl Marcellino, a Long Island Republican, urged Krueger not to impose her disapproval of hunting on New Yorkers who enjoy hunting and fishing.
Sen. John Bonacic, an Ulster County Republican, noted that he was born and raised in Manhattan. Since he's moved upstate, Bonacic said, he has gotten to know many sportsmen.
"No. 1, they hunt to feed their families," Bonacic said. "So, it's a budgetary thing."
Sen. Martin Connor, a Brooklyn Democrat, said his family has hunted and enjoyed the wilds of upstate New York for generations. Children who grow up in the less urbanized areas of upstate have different backgrounds than their big-city cousins, Connor said.
"The fact is, it's a different world outside the city," Connor said. "And kids are capable of handling this, they're capable of handling a bow - not every kid - somebody who doesn't have the strength isn't going to qualify for a junior archery license. And they're not going to find it much fun trying. But someone who can will."
Another Democrat from New York City, Eric Schneiderman, backed Krueger and said there was an undertone of "disrespect" toward the city in the Senate's debate.
"Many of us have not been isolated on the island of Manhattan for our entire lives," he said. Concerns about the safety of having 12- and 13-year-olds shooting arrows from bows at wildlife are "legitimate grounds for a debate," he contended.
In the end, the measure passed 56-6 and advanced to the state Assembly, where it has strong majority-party sponsorship.
As a parting thought, one downstate Democrat in the Senate said having more bow hunters would be a plus for her county of Westchester.
"I would like as many as possible to come to Westchester, where the only way we can kill deer is by bow and arrow," said Sen. Suzi Oppenheimer. "So if we can get a lot of these youngsters to come to Westchester, that would be very beneficial to me because we have a surplus of deer."
May 29, 2003, Thursday, BC cycle
SECTION: State and Regional
LENGTH: 706 words
HEADLINE: The Legislature takes on archery-minded youths
BYLINE: By JOEL STASHENKO, Associated Press Writer
DATELINE: ALBANY, N.Y.
BODY:
Sure, 2.5 million people who live in rent-regulated apartments are looking to the state Capitol for action this spring.
And there are the tens of thousands of chemically contaminated commercial sites that still need to be cleaned up. And hundreds of inmates facing at least 15 years in state prison for first-time drug busts are seeking relief from the harsh Rockefeller Drug Laws.
But the state Senate spent its longest time in debate this week on a bill to let 12- and 13-year-olds hunt for bear, deer and other "big game" with a bow and arrow.
Frivolous?
Yes and no. Though the bill itself would affect relatively few young archers, the debate over the measure underscored yet again what a diverse body the Legislature is and, by extension, how varied New York is, from Grand Central Station in Manhattan to Grand Island outside Buffalo.
Currently, 14 is the minimum age that youths in New York can legally hunt with a bow, provided they pass an approved safety course and hunt with an adult. The legislation would continue the same safety and supervision provisions for 12- and 13-year-old archers.
Sen. Liz Krueger provoked a cordial, but at times sharp, debate by questioning the wisdom of turning hunters so young loose in the woods and fields with a weapon. She cited statistics on hunting accidents involving young people, though she conceded the data contained injuries from both bow-and-arrow and firearm accidents.
"When you're in the woods hunting, there are guns around that often get shot," she argued. "Twelve and 13-year-olds don't have maturity to be out in the woods hunting bear or deer, whether with guns or bows and arrows ... I hope that parents out there realize that they shouldn't let 12- and 13-year-olds hunt, even if it becomes the law of New York state."
Krueger was sure to get a rise out of many of her colleagues with such comments. The Senate is controlled by Republicans, mostly from Long Island and upstate New York, and it contains several avid sportsmen.
Krueger was doubly bound to spark a debate because she is a Democrat from Manhattan and clearly no fan of hunting.
Sen. Carl Marcellino, a Long Island Republican, urged Krueger not to impose her disapproval of hunting on New Yorkers who enjoy hunting and fishing.
Sen. John Bonacic, an Ulster County Republican, noted that he was born and raised in Manhattan. Since he's moved upstate, Bonacic said, he has gotten to know many sportsmen.
"No. 1, they hunt to feed their families," Bonacic said. "So, it's a budgetary thing."
Sen. Martin Connor, a Brooklyn Democrat, said his family has hunted and enjoyed the wilds of upstate New York for generations. Children who grow up in the less urbanized areas of upstate have different backgrounds than their big-city cousins, Connor said.
"The fact is, it's a different world outside the city," Connor said. "And kids are capable of handling this, they're capable of handling a bow - not every kid - somebody who doesn't have the strength isn't going to qualify for a junior archery license. And they're not going to find it much fun trying. But someone who can will."
Another Democrat from New York City, Eric Schneiderman, backed Krueger and said there was an undertone of "disrespect" toward the city in the Senate's debate.
"Many of us have not been isolated on the island of Manhattan for our entire lives," he said. Concerns about the safety of having 12- and 13-year-olds shooting arrows from bows at wildlife are "legitimate grounds for a debate," he contended.
In the end, the measure passed 56-6 and advanced to the state Assembly, where it has strong majority-party sponsorship.
As a parting thought, one downstate Democrat in the Senate said having more bow hunters would be a plus for her county of Westchester.
"I would like as many as possible to come to Westchester, where the only way we can kill deer is by bow and arrow," said Sen. Suzi Oppenheimer. "So if we can get a lot of these youngsters to come to Westchester, that would be very beneficial to me because we have a surplus of deer."
