This editorial was first published in the Observer-Dispatch (Utica, New York), a fellow GateHouse Media publication. Guest editorials don’t necessarily reflect the Daily Messenger’s opinions.

It’s pretty sad that New York — and other states — need laws to deal with people who hunt while intoxicated.

Last week, the state Senate passed a measure to lower the legal blood-alcohol content threshold for hunting while intoxicated from 0.10 percent to 0.08 percent. The Assembly had approved the bill a day before. The new level meets the standard set for driving while intoxicated and boating while intoxicated.

There is no argument that people shouldn’t be walking around the woods or through a field with a gun in one hand and a beer in the other. Hunters will be the first ones to tell you that.

We’re not naive enough to deny that some drinking goes on in hunting camps…