Last month, the Erie County Legislature passed a local law that allows hunters as young as 12 years old to use a gun or crossbow to hunt deer with supervision from an adult.
New York State enacted this years ago, but each county must opt in, something Erie County has not done yet.
Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz held a public hearing on Wednesday to allow residents to speak in favor of or against the law as Poloncarz weighs his decision to veto.
Jack Bouquin, President of the West Falls Conservation Society, was on hand to talk about the benefits of being out in the woods.
“The time out there in the woods, in the fields, and the streams, it's a healing time," said Bouquin. "It's a matter of education, education that they don't get in school. It's a time away from diddling your phone and playing on your Game Boy or on the screens and in the cities and on the streets and on the pavement. It's a time to be in the woods and hear and see and smell what God gave us out there."
A decision is expected by Poloncarz by the end of the day on Thursday. He vetoed the bill before, in 2021, citing gun safety concerns.
Resident Mike Cummings brought up the point to Poloncarz of looking at the data of other counties that have opted in as a safety factor indicator for Erie County.
“With the counties that do allow it, there have been no injuries. How many injuries have you had this year in high school football, in high school sports? Are you going to cancel that because of the injuries there? You have got to take all of that into consideration. Spending time in the woods with your kids is just an unbelievable feeling,” said Cummings.
Legislators pushing for the bill to go through say they are confident in overriding the decision if it is vetoed.
