More than 30 county legislatures have passed resolutions in opposition to the state’s gun-control law. Some Democratic-controlled local governments are backing it, though.
Government leaders in White Plains; Ramapo, Rockland County; the Westchester County Legislature; and the Rochester City Council have either written lawmakers in support of the law or passed resolutions in favor of it. So too has the Yonkers city leadership.
“The new law includes the strongest assault weapons ban in the nation and we not only endorse this, we have acted upon it. Rochester has had an assault weapon ban on the books since 1993,” the Rochester City Council and Mayor Thomas Richards wrote in a letter Feb. 28 to Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, D-Manhattan. “The NY SAFE Act also includes additional safeguards to prevent guns from falling into the hands of society’s most dangerous individuals. While we support the right to bear arms, we feel that this law takes the necessary steps to ensure that gun ownership is done in a responsible manner.”
Gov. Andrew Cuomo and state lawmakers have been under criticism from gun-rights groups for passing the most stringent gun-control law in the nation on Jan. 15. Local governments upstate have largely spoken out against the law, saying it is unconstitutional and an unfunded mandate.
Not all agree.
“We are grateful for the leadership that you and members of the state Legislature have shown on this important issue,” the eight Democratic members of the Westchester County Legislature wrote to Cuomo on Feb. 27.
Here’s the Rochester letter to Silver.
1 NY SAFE Act letter of support silver-joint rev 1 (2).docx by jspector
5 Comments
I would like to correct your reporting on the number of counties who have passed resolutions in opposition to the so called SAFE Ace. The number is now over 50 who have passed or who will be voting, ostensibly to pass, resolutions. The Franklin County Legislature was the latest who passed such a resolution yesterday, March 7th. In addition, over 20 towns have passed resolutions. The Town of Franklin will pass a resolution this coming Wed., March 13th.
So I guess they think that all the gangs and criminals who have these what are now illegal weapons are just going to start obeying this new law and get rid of their guns. What kind of fantasy world do they live in? I mean really that is why they are called criminals, any 5th grader knows that.
And you need to be accurate in your numbers, there are over 50 counties that have passed a resolution and many towns I don’t have the number of them that have passed or are planning on passing a resolution.
These politicians are obviously delusional, uninformed on the issues and the studies that have been done on gun control. Citizens recognize these studies, politicians ignore them. Furthermore as public officials they have an obligation to support the Constitution and therefore are deficient in their duties. There is a process by which laws are passed and where governments lower than the Federal Government have no right to supersede the Constitution of the United States of America. What these politicians are doing is to take focus off important issues that need attention, they are wasting time and money, sound familiar.
I see that there highly educated (not) polititions are really imformed about criminals. Gentlemen and ladies first of all, criminals are just that, criminals. Criminals do not obey laws. That is why they are criminals. Secondly, criminals do not regularly use so-called assault weapons, AR-15—AK-47, etc. in the commission of their crimes. They are too hard to conceal. Criminals prefer handguns.
Now, thanks to Andrew Cuomo’s mis-guided attempt to position himself for a run at the presidency in 2016, even most handguns are classified as assault weapons because they hold more than seven rounds in their magazines. I guess that you do not know that an experienced shooter can fire and change 3 seven round magazines in only about 3 seconds more that it takes to fire i nineteen round Glock magazine and put 2 more rounds downrange at the same time.
You, in your mis-guided attempt to support the stupidity of Cuomo might as well be spitting into the wind. What you are supporting will hale little effect on over-all gun crime in New York State.
Sounds like a few more people will be looking for work in the private sector come November.