State issues hunting licenses to convicted felons
ROCHESTER, N.Y. New York state is issuing hunting licenses to
convicted felons, despite a state law that bars felons from owning or
carrying firearms.
That's according to a report by Rochester television station
W-H-E-C.
The station reports that it checked the state database of people
with felony convictions in a five-county area around Rochester dating
back to 1995, and compared it to the Department of Environmental
Conservation's list of hunting permits.
The results showed that 82 felons in the Rochester area alone were
issued hunting licenses last season.
The station reports that at least one of the felons used a gun to
hunt, and in fact he recorded his deer kill with the D-E-C.
D-E-C officials told the station that under current state law, the
agency isn't required to check a hunting license applicant's criminal
background.
Fair Use Notice: This document may contain copyrighted material
whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owners. We believe
that this not-for-profit, educational use on the Web constitutes
a fair use of the copyrighted material (as provided for in section
107 of the US Copyright Law). If you wish to use this copyrighted
material for purposes of your own that go beyond fair use, you must
obtain permission from the copyright owner.
