NYS Dove hunt petition

Paula · January 20, 2018

https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2017/s7202

On January 3^rd Senator O’Mara introduced a senate version of the dove bill; S7202. It was co-sponsored by Senator Seward and Senator Ranzenhofer. To our knowledge, this is the first time that a dove bill has been sponsored in both the Assembly and Senate.

The pending dove legislation is viable - it has 5 assembly sponsors and 3 senate sponsors, is bi-cameral, bipartisan, and the Governor, the Assembly Speaker, and the Senate Environmental Conservation Committee Chairman have indicated to us they support dove hunting.

At this time there are specific developments that must happen, and the only way these developments will proceed is if enough of the people receiving this notification take the actions we ask.

VERY important - 4 actions to take: (do ALL)

*If you want to know why you are taking these actions read below the action section.

go to: https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2017/S7202 vote “AYE”

Do NOT share this link with ANYONE! *want to know why? Read the rest of this newsletter!

Then go to: https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2017/A7778 vote “AYE” on this one too.

Do NOT share this link with ANYONE either! *want to know why? Read the rest of this newsletter!

Contact the Governor, and in a simple and plain way ask him to take the same action in (February) 2018 for Assembly Bill 7778A and Senate Bill 7202 as he did in 2014 to allow crossbow hunting. This has to be done ASAP because the budget is worked on and sometimes completed at the beginning of February.

You can contact the Governor 3 ways; you can call: 1-518-474-8390, write: The Honorable Andrew M. Cuomo, Governor of New York State, NYS State Capitol Building, Albany, NY 12224 or click on the following link and leave him a message through his contact page: www.governor.ny.gov/content/governor-contact-form .

The governer wrote us on August 7th that he would consider executive action and would monitor this bill. The governor is a sportsman and he 'gets it'

Contact Senator’s Flanagan and Klein and politely ask them to bring S7202 to a vote in the Senate Environmental Conservation Committee. Klein: 718-822-2049, Flanagan: 631-361-2154
or send your messages through Klein or Flanagan’s senate pages. If you call you might ask to speak to the Senator or one of his legislative aids.

Explanation of actions you just took:

While these bills are in both houses and have bi-cameral, bipartisan support, and the Governor, the Assembly Speaker, and the Senate Environmental Conservation Committee Chairman have indicated to us they support dove hunting, three other powerful lawmakers: the Assembly Environmental Conservation Chairman, the Republican Senate Majority Leader, and the Independent Democrat Leader have not responded to us. The first 2018 meeting of the Senate Environmental Conservation Committee held on January 8 stirs up the concern that as in the past, leaders will block dove legislation. At this meeting, there were 17 bills on the agenda, all of which were voted on except S-7202, the dove bill. Although the sponsor happens to be the environmental conservation committee chairman (Senator O’Mara) even he cannot move a bill in his committee unless it is directed by a “majority leader”. Since the senate republicans have a “power-sharing agreement” with the ID party, they are not really the majority. Not only does O’Mara need a green light from Republican Senate Leader John Flanagan, he also needs approval from Senate Independent Democrat Party Leader Jeffery Klein.

At this time there are specific developments that must happen, and the only way these developments will proceed is if enough of the people receiving this notification take the actions we ask.

The Senate Leaders and the Assembly Environmental Conservation Committee Chairman must be contacted and you need to indicate you are in favor of dove hunting and that you request that the currently pending dove legislation is moved to vote. Going around the Legislature is the best bet however, and the only way that can be done is through Governor Cuomo. Fortunately, the Governor has told us through correspondence he certainly would consider favorable executive action on the dove bills. Since this executive action is usually done through the executive budget, which is finalized in February, everyone must contact the Governor right away! The third action is to use the above links to the NYS Legislature’s dove bill pages to vote ‘AYE’. Doing this would make your support known not only to the reps for your voting district, but the entire Legislature. Since the antis will use this tool more readily than sportsman, it is important you keep these links confidential, do not share or post them. If you have a hunting buddy or group get them to sign the petition, once they made that commitment, we will send them these links. Don’t mention anything except the petition.

Numerous dove bills have been introduced since 1980, all of which failed. Although we are continuing to work all-out with the Legislature; we also are requesting of the Governor that he puts language in the 2018 executive budget which authorizes dove hunting, just as he did with the crossbow matter. The Governor negotiated with the Legislature in 2014 when they would not agree on a crossbow bill that was reintroduced several times and he got it passed by making it part of his Executive Budget. If the Governor did not take this action, it is doubtful crossbows would be a legal hunting implement in New York today. The attached letter, dated August 14, 2017 from Governor Cuomo states that he will consider executive action on pending Assembly bill 7778A. We urge sportsmen to politely contact the Governor and in a simple and plain way ask him to take the same action in (February) 2018 for Assembly Bill 7778A and Senate Bill 7202 as he did in 2014 to allow crossbow hunting.

FYI: The situation today is similar to the crossbow deadlock in 2014. Over several years, numerous crossbow bills were stalled despite support in both the senate and assembly, by certain key legislators. However, Governor Cuomo overcame the political gridlock with a budget proposal.

LET’S MAKE HUNTING HAPPEN!

The only mechanism we have to deter newspapers from undermining our effort is to boycott their advertisers.
A series of subtle, but positively negative articles has been published by a Broome county, city of Binghamton newspaper; The Press & Sun Bulletin. The paper even posted the article on social media and tagged key policy deciders. We are sure that the city paper would not expend this effort if the articles were about dove hunting per se, instead of about dove hunting legislation. The paper and writer also has a history of using the media in Binghamton and Ithaca to attack pheasant stocking and hunting. He also wrote an article about how hunting is not a right, but a privilege. If he didn't post photos of him with bucks, an average hunter would classify him as an anti. But because he pretends, hunters follow him like a lemming over the cliff to their doom.

I will be drafting letters to every advertiser in this rag. Then I will be sending everyone a list of business that advertise in this 'fake news' newspaper. I urge everyone to avoid these merchants and if you previously have done business with them, let them know you are no longer going to because of the way the paper they place ads in covers dove and pheasant hunting.
Of course, when other news outlets do the same, we will also issue a boycott to their supporters as well.
#BoycottPressandSunBulletinAdvertisers

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