Another birthday doesn’t diminish my resolve

Since my last article I had another birthday, and I really am a old man now as all the trees on my street are younger than me. I believe the street also is younger than me!! Being old I tend to worry a lot. I worry about the sportsmen in our state as their rights are slowly being eroded by anti-sportsmen laws such as the latest one regarding the purchase of ammunition. This law is causing a lot of small gun dealers to go out of business which I think was the actual purpose of the law. Many sportsmen are going to Pennsylvania to purchase their ammo because of this law. More possible antigun laws are in the works such as forcing you to have liability insurance if you have a firearm, this one has been around for a long time and is back under consideration.

Years ago, the sportsmen fought back against this type of legislation through groups like the New York State Conservation Council (NYSCC). This organization at one time had an office downstate and every county in NY was a member. The NYSCC had a Legislative vice president who lobbied in Albany against anti sportsmen legislation and the NYSCC membership was at that time in the thousands. They actually passed resolutions which were supported by the DEC. Some of these resolutions successfully brought the sportsmen Sunday hunting, Rifle big game hunting in some counties, crossbow hunting just to name a few accomplishments. This large group of organized sportsmen was recognized by the NYSDEC and the DEC regularly attended the NYSCC annual convention and their spring meeting. Unfortunately, membership and with-it money declined to where it is today which is a small statewide organization with very little money struggling to survive. The good news is its still a viable organization which is on the upswing and truly deserve our support as the only statewide organization representing sportsmen which as you know, we need now!! Look up their website at https://www.nyscc.com and check them out!! I will have more on the NYSCC in a future article.

The Erie County Federation and all its members wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!

Joseph Fischer