Upstate New Yorkers React To Gun Bans In Bear Country And They Are NOT Happy

The residents of upstate New York are both concerned and confused about the state’s new gun control laws, which put severe limitations on the right to carry a firearm in areas that are considered to be “sensitive locations,” which includes states parks located in the Adirondack mountains.

Gun control laws are bad. That is a rather simple statement, yet carries with it an enormous amount of truth. The Founding Fathers created the Second Amendment as a means for the American people to possess weapons in order to preserve life, liberty, and property.

There are a lot of different ways these three things come into jeopardy. A tyrannical government can attempt to strip you of your rights. An armed populace can put a quick stop to that. A thief might try to break into your home and take your stuff, or worse, try to harm you or your loved ones. Again, owning a gun can stop that.

But there’s also the threat of wild animals too, which is something a lot of folks don’t think of. That’s understandable given that most of us don’t live in the woods, but there are people who do, and for them, wildlife like bears and wolves pose a serious problem.

TheBlaze has more to say on the subject:

In late June, Democratic lawmakers rushed to pass new gun restrictions after the Supreme Court ruled that a 109-year-old New York law that required citizens to show proper cause to apply for a permit to carry concealed weapons was unconstitutional. On July 1, Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) signed a bill establishing a long list of “sensitive locations” that have essentially become gun-free zones, including airports, houses of worship, government buildings, and parks.

The law makes it a felony crime to carry a firearm in these restricted locations starting on Sept. 1.

But New York hunters and communities living upstate in the nearly six million acres of forest preserve in the Adirondacks worry the new restrictions on carrying guns in parks means they’ll no longer be able to hunt or participate in sporting events where they live.

“It pretty much means I’ve got to leave the firearm at home,” said Rick Bennett, who owns the North Creek Trading Post, a store that sells firearms and fish tackle. Bennett was one of several upstate New Yorkers interviewed by Reuters who have expressed concerns about the new gun restrictions.

Other individuals who have been expressing concern about the new restrictions are folks who run summer camps in Adirondack Park, which is a mountainous area that covers an entire one-fifth of New York state — that’s pretty massive — and is home to a total of 130,000 people.  There are a lot of very popular sporting rifle courses kids that are taught in the area that the population worries will be considered a felony crime since the camps have been labeled “sensitive locations.”

An event, known as the Mount Van Hoevenberg, this yearly biathlon could also be deemed illegal since combines skiing and target shooting.

“While New York’s new gun law carries an exemption for people ‘lawfully engaged in hunting activity,’ deer season only lasts for a few weeks in the fall. Also, bears and other dangerous wildlife make the mountains and hiking trails their home. New Yorkers are wondering if it is a crime to carry a gun on a hike for protection,” the report continued.

Gov. Hochul’s office has stated that the new law “changes nothing for lawful gun owners on both Forest Preserve and private lands within the blue line of the Adirondacks and Catskills.” 

“These areas are not considered ‘sensitive locations’ under the law,” a spokesman for Hochul went on to tell Adirondack Explorer.

It seems that many lawmakers are not in agreement with Hochul. During a debate over the law, state Sen. Zellnor Myrie, a Democrat who is one of the sponsors of the bill, stated, “The parts of the Adirondack Park that are public would fall under the sensitive location criteria laid out here, but there are parts of the park, as you know, that are not public, that are private property, so this pertains to the public portions of that park.”

Another Democratic sponsor of the legislation, Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz, was also pretty firm that Adirondack Park is now deemed a sensitive location for the purpose of the gun restrictions. He is in opposition to an amendment being proposed by Republicans that would exclude Adirondack Park lands from the legislation.

However, there was a victory for gun rights organizations back in June by the Supreme Court which has inspired these folks to fight back harder against gun control advocates.

“I have gotten hundreds of calls from people from the Adirondacks,” Tom King, who serves as the president of the New York State Rifle and Pistol Association, went on to say during a chat with Reuters.

“And all I can say is that there are going to be lawsuits,” he added.