Senate Passes Bill Lowering Age to Hunt with a Gun

According to WIVB, the New York Senate has recently passed a bill to allow kids as young as 12 to go deer hunting with a rifle.  Now, that being said- the Senate passed this Bill, but it’s not legal quite yet.  There’s still a pathway of approvals that would need to happen for this to actually be allowed.

As discusses by WIVB, kids as young as 12 would still need to be supervised, but they would be allowed to operate a gun under this Bill.  The Bill is co-sponsored by Senators Rob Ortt and Michael Ranzenhofer, and the aim is to get more people and families hunting, and to help preserve a New York tradition.  With any legal movement comes opposition however, and there are some groups against the Bill, like New Yorkers Against Gun Violence.  You can get more information at WIVB.

As a kid I used to hunt with my dad every year.  No, I wouldn’t shoot the gun since I legally couldn’t, but I’d go and and sit in the woods with him and wait...wait...and wait some more for that perfect buck to wander by.  I learned how to target shoot at a young age, as my dad meticulously taught me, strict about gun safety and all of the rules.  To this day I look forward to hunting season. It’s a tradition for my family.  Not everyone has the same views as me though, and that’s OK.  But I’ll say- I certainly would have loved to have been able to get my own buck in those days instead of sitting in the cold and watching!