The Le Roy High School Clay Target Team during a practice at a range in Le Roy in 2018. Photo by Howard Owens.
Press Release:
File photo of Claudia Tenney
Congresswoman Claudia Tenney (NY-24) today introduced the Protecting Hunting and Archery in Schools Act of 2023 to protect hunting, archery, and shooting sports programs in schools.
Additional cosponsors include Reps. Russ Fulcher (R-ID), Jim Banks (R-IN), Brandon Williams (R-NY), and Andy Ogles (R-TN).
Specifically, this bill strikes the Elementary and Secondary Education Act’s (ESEA) current restriction on ESEA funds on “the provision to any person of a dangerous weapon… or training in the use of a dangerous weapon.”
This provision was added to the ESEA by the so-called “Bipartisan Safer Communities Act” in 2022. Now, the Biden administration is intentionally misconstruing Congressional intent and using this provision to prohibit ESEA funds from being used to fund hunting, archery, and shooting sports programs in schools.
“The Biden administration continues to advance its radical anti-Second Amendment agenda by prohibiting ESEA funding for archery and shooting sports programs,” said Congresswoman Tenney. “Upstate New York schools offer hunting, archery, and shooting sports programs to teach students how to responsibly handle firearms and respect our Second Amendment rights. The Biden Administration’s attempt to defund these outdoor recreational programs is a power grab and flies in the face of Congressional intent. This important legislation will protect these popular after-school programs and end the Biden Administration’s attack on our constitutional rights.”
“Biden’s extreme agenda is being thwarted by our Constitution, and our First and Second Amendment Rights remain their main targets,” said Jack Prendergast, Chairman of The Board, New York State SCOPE. “The Left fears citizens that can speak the truth and defend themselves. That’s why the Biden administration is working to drive legal gun retailers out of business and pass laws that will make owning guns unaffordable to all but their elite. With the twisting of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, they are working to discourage another generation from enjoying their constitutional rights. Thank you to Rep Tenney for her leadership on working to restore federal funding to our youth hunting and archery programs.”
