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On April 6, an audacious letter was published in the Buffalo News that demanded that the County Executive of Erie County, Marc Poloncarz, rescind his decision to not opt-in to lowering the deer-hunting age to twelve!
Jeffery Termini, an Erie County resident, responded to the letter this way:
In response to the short-sighted and ill-informed letter telling Erie County’s executive to rescind his veto that disallowed deer hunting by 12-year- olds, I say, “Hooray for County Executive Poloncarz for protecting the residents of Erie County.” He should be a role model for all counties.
Hunting is about as safe a “sport” as running into traffic to see how close you can get to an oncoming vehicle. Then, to add 12-year-olds to the mix is reckless. Some folks might enjoy the thrill of running at cars but consider the consequences to the families and to the driver who may run down the individual, and the cost incurred by all. In other words, other people and property need to be considered, not merely the fun of the 12-year-old.
Comparing the “safety” of hunting to other types of sports, such as football or golf, is silly. The absolute accidents need to be looked at within the full context of the number of participants and the number of hours of participation in the activity. Hunting has a relatively small number of participants, and the hours spent hunting pale by comparison to other sports. So, when the number of hours of participation is small, and the number of participants is small, the number of accidents that occur is huge relative to activities with far more participants and far higher hours of participation.
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When those variables are considered, hunting is off the scale for the number of accidents and fatalities.
That there were no reported incidents with 12-year-olds carrying and using firearms during 2021, should not be celebrated as a permanent condition. Basically, we are tempting fate and literally dodging bullets. Firearms in anyone’s hands pose risks that we’re all too aware of.
The letter writer even states that 12-year-olds are less safe in school than in the woods hunting as he ref- erences a 12-year-old who was beaten up at school. Has he thought about the consequences if arguing children in school had firearms?
We urge the Erie County executive to stay firm in his veto and encourage the other county executives of New York State to follow his example of bravely protecting the public.
Sincerely,
Jeffery Termini, League of Humane Voters of New York
(Published in the Buffalo News 4/13/22.)
https://tinyurl.com/hoorayforpoloncarz
To see photos of 12 year olds who’ve killed deer, visit: https://tinyurl.com/yc2m93fe.
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