Wounded Marine vet seeks crossbow law

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Wounded Marine vet seeks crossbow law


BUFFALO, N.Y. — A Marine who lost an arm and a leg in Iraq wants New York to legalize crossbow hunting so that he can get back to hunting with his father.

For Mark O'Brien, 24, it would be a step toward reclaiming a life profoundly changed by an enemy rocket during a firefight in the city of Ramadi on Nov. 8, 2004.

"I told my buddies to let me die," he told The Buffalo News on Thursday. "I didn't think I could live without my leg and my arm."

O'Brien found his will to live, and now he is determined to resume his favorite pursuits from the past, including bowhunting with his father, David, in the countryside outside Buffalo.

But without the two hands required for a traditional bow, O'Brien is drawn to a crossbow, which has a trigger and can be operated with one hand. They are outlawed in New York, largely because state officials are split on whether the powerful weapons should be used during shotgun season or archery season.

Moved by a telephone call from O'Brien, state Sen. George Maziarz said Thursday that he has introduced a bill in to legalize crossbow hunting in New York, under the regulation of the Department of Environmental Conservation.

"The benefits from a crossbow are not just physical, but also psychological," said Don Thompson, a Vietnam veteran and director of the Veterans Service Agency in Niagara County. "It helps the healing process. This young man would no longer feel left out."

The crossbow legislation also would benefit elderly and disabled hunters who have not lost their love for the sport, said Bill Hilts Sr., president of the New York State Crossbow Hunting Association.

"Mark is an exceptional young man who is transforming his injury into something very positive for all hunters who have mobility challenges," Maziarz said.

O'Brien, who enlisted in the Marines after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, took part in the invasion of Iraq in 2003 and, after a seven-month break, was 65 days into a second tour when he was injured.

He was fitted with a prosthetic right leg and right arm at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md.

Home again, he went back to school and is completing his sophomore year at D'Youville College in Buffalo, majoring in history.

Maziarz said he has been trying to legalize crossbow hunting for years. "I can't think of a better example why we need this legislation," he said.

The bill would provide for a crossbow hunting season by July 2009. It has no Assembly sponsor, according to Maziarz's office.


Disabled Sportsmen of America has contacted Mark O'Brien, and we are currently planning to take mark and his father on a Texas Hog Hunt in late Sept. or early Oct. I am not sure if this young man knows what kind of impact this bill passing will have on the disabled and terminally ill people of NY. It will allow them once again to enjoy the thrill of the hunt, that we abled bodied people take for granted!
We at DSA commend Mark for his efforts!