NORWICH – U.S. Representative Richard Hanna is pushing a number of federal initiatives he says will help protect sportsmen in upstate New York from increasingly overbearing regulations from Capitol Hill.

Hanna recently outlined those initiatives at Mayhood’s Sporting Goods in Norwich. With several proposed regulations that hinder outdoor regulations making it to the floor of the legislature, namely gun laws, the need to safeguard the rights of outdoor sportsmen is paramount, he said.

“We have a very proud history of sporting in upstate New York whether it’s hunting, fishing, sport shooting, snowmobiling or other activities,” Hanna said. “What we have seen, especially in New York, is our government attempt to chip away at the rights of law-abiding gun owners.”

To push back in defense of sportsmen, Hanna outlined a number of areas where he’s working at the federal level to address growing needs. He has co-sponsored the Recreational Fishing and Hunting Heritage Opportunities Act which would require that federal land management officials, working in coordination with appropriate state agencies, open access to public land for fishing, sport hunting and recreational shooting. He also co-sponsors the Renewable Fuel Standard Elimination Act, a bill that seeks to repeal EPA requirements that transportation fuel contain a certain volume of renewable fuels, like ethanol. Such fuels can damage recreational vehicles, meaning more repair costs for the owner.