For clarification, Tom O'mara, who proposed this antler restriction bill in the NY Senate, was against the Safe Act. I met with him in his office during one of the protests in Albany. He is a nice guy and has been about as good as one could hope for in a representative from NY. But he stepped in it on this one.
When AJG spoke about the legislature above, I believe he was referring to it generally and not to Mr. O'Mara specifically.
Like previously stated, The DEC went around and around on this issue for two years before deciding not to expand AR's to any new WMU's. It seemed the issue was settled. Their decision to promote the voluntary non harvest of yearling bucks was , I thought, a good compromise. But evidently the QDM folks won't be deterred. Now this bill has appeared out of the blue and it is obvious that some person or group got Mr. O'Mara's ear. Politics at its finest.
