Will keep fighting for rights of ATV users

The lawsuits against all-terrain vehicle riders are getting ridiculous. It's awful coincidental that one suit should follow another and riding season is set to start in a couple of months. This just shows that the anti-recreationists are feeling threatened. Rose Pettit is just one of the followers of an ex-legislator who doesn't want his name mentioned, and these lawsuits are being funded by an environmental group.

We have our rights, and we are going to continue fighting for our right to ride. It's pretty pathetic when these people condemn other people for their recreation. What is this country coming to when the environmental groups dictate how you live your life. We already have a lack of jobs due to the lack of businesses and manufacturing. The small businesses survive on tourism and recreation now, but these people don't care. They are only thinking of themselves.

For years we have had to register and license these machines, but yet we are not allowed on roads of any kind and the anti-recreationists are having a fit because they don't want us to ride on seasonal roads, truck trails or any kind of trail that was built in a way so that the sensitive areas are not hurt. Well, you know what, get over it.

According to the Constitution this is supposed to be a free country. You have your right to complain, but you shouldn't have the right to shut down roads or trails just because you don't like a particular vehicle. It's like shutting a road down to tractors or motorcycles or even a certain car because of the way they are driven. Instead, if the person is a reckless driver, call law enforcement to ticket that person.

As for her complaint about the environment, Ms. Pettit and the rest of her followers plus that ex-legislator should watch the History Channel "Life After People." After 100 years, no one will ever know if there was ever an ATV trail at all. If Mother Nature can get over it, then so can Ms. Pettit and all of the rest of the anti-recreationists. This goes for the Sierra Club, the Adirondack Park Agency and the Nature Conservancy. There are 123,877 registered ATVers in New York state, and we are not about to give up our rights!

John McGraw

Copenhagen

The writer is president of the Tug Hill Wheelers ATV Club.