Kathy Hochul says shooting contests staying despite new gun law

Residents of upstate New York are fearing another legislative misfire by Albany Democrats who restricted concealed weapons earlier this year in response to a controversial decision by the Supreme Court.

Rural residents have been up in arms since lawmakers passed legislation at the end of June banning firearms at a long list of venues including “sporting events” — which a prominent Democrat suggested would include gun competitions.

“I guess that’s covered by this,” Assembly Codes Committee Chair Jeffrey Dinowitz (D-Bronx) told Assemblywoman Mary Beth Walsh (R-Saratoga) after she asked about the matter during a June 30 legislative debate.

“A lot of times New York is trying to be first — the first to poke back at the US Supreme Court because they didn’t like the concealed carry ruling … So [Democrats] tried to be first and then they’re not best. It was sloppy drafting,” Walsh told The Post.

Reps for the bill sponsors — Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie and state Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins — did not respond to requests for comment.

But Dinowitz’s comment has led to lingering worries that Albany Democrats are shooting down a beloved pastime promoted by dozens of high schools teams from the Hudson to Lake Erie.

A petition to Gov. Kathy Hochul — who signed the legislation into law soon after it passed — circulated by shooting enthusiasts has received more than 3,300 online signatures.

“We’ve got musical kids, we’ve got kids that are in a bunch of sports,” McKenna Coniber, 17, told The Post about the LeRoy Trap Shoot Team in western New York. “It’s something you can do while playing another sport. It’s a great activity for everybody. It’s a male or female, whatever, whoever.”

Coniber shoots a Remington 11-87 shotgun every weekend with her dad and wants to become the best teen around when it comes to blasting clay pigeons with a 12-gauge.

While shooters and hunters are not always the same people, the Hochul administration says a carveout in the new law for the latter ensures shooting competitions will remain legal.

“Trap shooting, just like target shooting, is considered a hunting or hunter education activity,” Hazel Crampton-Hays told The Post, citing guidance about the new laws from the New York Department of Environmental Conservation.

But the final answer to Walsh’s question hinges on regulations that are currently being developed ahead of the official implementation of the new restrictions on Sept. 1.

“Additional guidance related to facets of the new law is being developed by the state and will be released publicly once it is finalized,” Crampton-Hays added.

“Under the law, these shooting activities, including target shooting at ranges, will continue to be legal and allowed,” state police spokesman William Duffy said in a statement.

“The state is developing detailed guidance concerning the requirements under the new law. That guidance will be released publicly once it is finalized.”

Uncertainty about the future of shooting sports is hardly the only issue gun lovers have with the new laws, which have also been criticized for supposedly banning hunters from using rifles within the Adirondack Park to bag their prey.

“The laws were so hastily put together and they’re so ambiguous and poorly written without understanding regarding anything about the culture or cultural heritage of upstate New York,” Tom King, president of the New York Rifle and Pistol Association, told The Post Thursday.

King’s group won the case in which the Supreme Court struck down a century-old state law that required applicants for a concealed weapons permit to prove to officials they have good reason to carry.

Democrats responded by passing the new gun control law, which might transform a legal victory for gun rights at the national level into a loss for shooting sports in the Empire State.

“It’s near and dear to my heart because this is what I do on the weekends,” Assemblywoman Marjorie Byrnes (R-Finger Lakes) told The Post.

“There is so much uncertainty as to what is or isn’t happening,” she added. “Nobody knows how to plan.”