At the news conference, Ms. Gillibrand defended her pro-gun legislative stance, saying that she “very much believes in protecting hunter’s rights” and that the pastime is part of “heritage and culture” of New York state.

But she also said that now that she represented the entire state, urban gun control issues would become part of her advocacy work.

“There’s a lot of concerns in many of our city communities about gun violence, about keeping our children safe and keeping guns out of the hands of criminals,” she said. “Those are concerns I share.”