Sportsmen and women in Western New York often are not aware of what legislative folk are saying and doing in Albany.

Elected representatives statewide too often are not aware of freedoms-related rights, issues, and concerns sportsmen around the Empire State value and strive to retain and further.

More than 2,000 of those concerned hunters, shooters, trappers, gun owners and collectors, and other outdoors-rights people gathered in the Legislative Office Building on Tuesday to view exhibits and hear leading gun-rights advocates address issues during a Sportsmen’s and Outdoor Recreation Legislative Awareness Albany Rally.

Set up in “The Well,” a long, wide corridor at the center of the building, representatives arriving from the Springville Field and Stream Club to groups from the Adirondacks and Catskills offered program information on conservation and environmental projects. Visitors could chat with reps and learn more about New York Bowhunters, Safari Club International, NYS Trappers Association, Quality Deer Management, and many other county and regional federated groups.

Erie and Genesee counties provided buses for about 75 Western New Yorkers, a trip that had us boarding along the Thruway before 5 a. m.

Chris Lane, chairman of the Genesee County Chapter of SCOPE, mentioned as we were going through security checks at the LOB entrance, “Most people don’t know that about 20 gun-related bills went on the Assembly floor on Jan. 6.”

This and other concerns were addressed during the exhibit and speaker sessions. Leading items among proposed anti-gun legislation include renewing pistol permits every five years, mandated gun storage, gun show restrictions, increased conceal carry restrictions, firearms possession in parks, and many others.

On the flip side, the New York State Conservation Council recommends supporting bill proposals exempting manufacturers in certain third-party situations, repealing the ballistic data bank, and creating a constitutional amendment for people in New York State to keep and bear arms for traditionally recognized purposes.

Most people don’t realize that there is no language similar to the Second Amendment to the U. S. Constitution in the New York State Constitution. That was the main point Tom King, New York State Rifle and Pistol Association president and rally co-coordinator, stressed during his talk. King called for gun owners to be proactive, stressing, “Gun owners have been on the defense too long” as he called for a state-sponsored Second Amendment Bill of Rights.

Assembly Minority Leader Brian Kolb co-coordinated the rally and hosted King and other speakers.

Ken Mathison, SCOPE president, pointed out the need to seek out pro-gun representatives, especially during this period of redistricting that could threaten representation. “We have to elect the ones that are on our side,” Mathison concluded.

Safari Club International President Larry Rudolph said, “Where you have hunting, wildlife prospers.” Along with conservation betterment, Rudolph cited sound economics. “The 1.2 million hunters in New York State spend about $1.8 billion each year and create jobs,” he added.

James Rabbia, plant manager of Remington Arms, noted that more than 900 of those jobs Rudolph cited are in the Ithaca plant. Remington, continuously operating in New York since 1816, complies with the many state regulations and produces firearms products used around the world.

Rabbia proudly said that during the 2009 production year, Remington built its 10 millionth model 870 shotgun.

The biggest gun at the speaker’s dais was Wayne LaPierre, NRA executive vice president. LaPierre cut right to his main focus: criminals, not guns, with much light centered on bad legislators and legislation. “When dishonest politicians try to disarm good people while letting criminals run the street, and when the media support them by letting their lies stand as the truth, that is truly the worst of both worlds,” he said.

In support of his strong statements, he cited the high rate of early-release felons in New York—second only to California—and the high rate of repeat felonies by detainees released in this state.

While he admits there will be no real cure for all crimes, proper enforcement of existing laws could ease criminality. Recalling the Richmond, Va., “Project Exile” program in the early 1990s, LaPierre urged law officials in Albany to prosecute and generate similar reductions in crime rates.

LaPierre challenged U. S. Attorney General Eric Holder to seek funds for a Project Exile program in Albany. “I’ll see that the NRA pays for the ads,” LaPierre quipped, taking into account Holder’s rejection of the Richmond project.

He feels anti-gun proposals ultimately will fail because of old and failed thinking. LaPierre believes these people who oppose gun ownership are “out of step with the God-given right to defense.” In sum, despite loud legislators making careers from anti-gun stances—he repeatedly cited Sen. Charles E. Schumer and the Clintons —in the end law-abiding gun owners will prevail and the antis will remain the fringe, he said.

Some saw the April 2009 rally as a lost cause. Given the way pro-gun visitors were kept from exhibiting in “The Well” and made to sit in the bleachers last year, it might have been considered a “glossed cause.” But area legislators such as State Sen. Dale Volker and Assemblyman Stephen Hawley were there and impressed by the sportsmen presence on Jan. 12, 2010.

Outdoors folk not aware of this day of awareness in Albany and not aware of proposed anti-gun rights legislation should be alert and aware of what is going on here and in Albany.

Local and regional groups can be a great help. To find area clubs, federations, and sportsmen’s organizations, try these sites: nra.org, nyscc.com, nysrpa.org and scopeny.org.