After being hit with a long-awaiting lawsuit from the New York Rifle & Pistol Association, the state’s attorney general says his office will continue to defend the controversial gun-control law passed in January.
In a statement issued by his office, Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said the law—which included a broader ban on assault weapons—is constitutional. The gun group makes the case that the ban on certain semi-automatic firearms violates the Second Amendment.
The statement doesn’t appear to make a direct reference to the Rifle & Pistol Association lawsuit.
“The SAFE Act is a comprehensive law that is making New York communities safer, while ensuring constitutional protections to responsible gun owners,” Schneiderman said in his statement. “My office will continue to aggressively defend the protections embodied in the law because every New Yorker deserves to live in a safe neighborhood free from the threat of gun violence.”
The lawsuit comes as lawmakers and Gov. Andrew Cuomo discuss easing a soon-to-take-effect ban on magazines that can hold more than seven bullets. The discussions to change the law—allowing the purchase of 10-capacity magazines, but only allowing them to be loaded with seven bullets in most cases—had been wrapped into the state’s budget negotiations, but were dropped when a framework budget agreement was announced Wednesday.
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AG Schneiderman stated that “The SAFE Act is a comprehensive law that is making New York communities safer, while ensuring constitutional protections to responsible gun owners, My office will continue to aggressively defend the protections embodied in the law because every New Yorker deserves to live in a safe neighborhood free from the threat of gun violence.” Question: How can my neighborhood be safer when we (the law abiding residents) are only allowed to have 7 rounds in our magazines? Most home invasions are committed by more than one (usually 2 or 3+) criminals who are NOT concerned with how many rounds their magazines hold. How is my neighborhood or my family safer? If AG Schneiderman wants to impose this law on New York City , then he should ahead since they seem to think they are a seperate state anyway.
I am appalled that tax money is being used to defend an unconstitutionally applied law that not only violates New York State Civil Rights Law, (Article 2 Section 4) and the United States Constitution in both the Commerce Clause and the Second Amendment. A law that in the stroke of a pen turned law abiding responsible New York Citizens into criminals. Not unlike how Hitler criminalized being Jewish.
I have yet to hear how any of the new laws are going to make us safer. Not one word has been said how they plan on disarming the criminal element. Go ahead Cuomo and address that question. If you have an answer.
To the Newtown families who lost a loved one. “I’m sorry for your loss. The reasons for such violence are complicated and require thoughtful, complex solutions. A politically-motivated law passed by the legislature will do little to make your family, or any other family, safer. Beware of any attempt by a politician, or media member, to exploit your tragedy for their own agenda. Ultimately, a firearm is a mere tool – an inanimate piece of metal incapable of action without human intervention. Any real solution attempting to prevent future mass shootings must focus less on the gun, and more on what factors drive people to pick up that gun and engage in indiscriminate killing. In particular, preventing future mass shootings requires a frank look at underlying, and often unaddressed, mental illness and social isolation in America. Simply making certain rifles harder to obtain will not solve the problem of mass violence. If an individual is desperate or delusional enough, he will simply move to the next available weapon. By addressing the underlying causes behind mass shootings, the US also has the opportunity to avoid a response that restricts rights in the wake of a national tragedy. After the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, part of the government’s domestic response was an arguable curtailing of privacy, speech, and association rights. Now, in the wake of Newtown, comes the prospect of undermining rights to gun ownership. We must not allow our government to fall back on simplistic answers. While it may be uncomfortable and expensive, the real solution lies in addressing mental health issues and the social isolation that drive individuals to commit acts of mass murder. Some of us genuinely appreciate that it is impossible to ban all guns in The US. Others of us still, deep down, imagine that we might someday fulfill the supply control dreams hatched in the 1970’s and actually get rid of guns. Indeed, if Gun control supporters didn’t believe that this is possible, the assault weapons ban is just nonsense. The President is saying we want to stop mass shootings against innocents using certain semiautomatic rifles, but shootings using other semiautomatics, pumps, lever actions, revolvers, double barrels or bolt actions are ok. If The President means to reduce gun violence is supply controls, you must ban all those guns too. The worst thing though is that legislation ignores the core question of how to protect the 7 year old in the classroom, with tired oversold ideas that mainly serve to mask the structural state incompetence that the progressive political class cannot profitably acknowledge.
Go back to Harvard Schneiderman. You need a refresher course about what it means when you take an Oath to defend and preserve the US and NYS Constitutions. After so many years in politics, you have no ethics left?
SHALL NOT BE INFRINGED!
THERE WILL BE RESISTANCE!!
“The lawsuit comes as lawmakers and Gov. Andrew Cuomo discuss easing a soon-to-take-effect ban on magazines that can hold more than seven bullets. The discussions to change the law—allowing the purchase of 10-capacity magazines, but only allowing them to be loaded with seven bullets in most cases—had been wrapped into the state’s budget negotiations, but were dropped when a framework budget agreement was announced Wednesday.”
Let’s just say that you could snap your fingers and totally remove every magazine capable of holding over 10 rounds of ammunition… do you REALLY think that the criminals will only load their magazines up to the 7th bullet? No. Joe and Jane civilian will, because they obey the law (albeit an unconstitutional law), while the criminals keep loading that magazine until all 10 bullets are in.
Schneiderman is a joke. Our taxpayer dollars are funding this clown’s gun-grabbing, do-nothing office as they chase down (formerly) law-abiding citizens and charge them with class A misdemeanors for violating the (un)SAFE Act. If only he’d put as much effort into stopping and reporting the hit-and-run motor vehicle accident he was involved when he was a senator. But, Elena Kagan’s niece was driving, so you know that went away. Now this punk is the top law enforcement official in the state? Only in New York people. Only in New York.
Attorney General Eric Schneiderman there is no possible way you can even say this law is constitutional with a laymans law education because it makes “Assault Weapons” illegal in this state. If you read the 2nd Amendment you can’t help but notice that clause which states “A well regulated militia” which links the Right to bear arms with military service ergo weapons suitable for military use. Now Some peope would say that means only the National Guard has the right to bear arms however if you read USC Title 10 Sec 311 you’ll notice every male between the age of 17 and 45 who is a citizen or has declared an intention of becoming a citizen is a member of the unorganized militia of the US. Throw in the fact that the fed gov. subsideses the training and equiping of the unorganized militia through the civilian marksmanship program and you can’t help but figure that the 2nd Amendment aint got sh!t to do with gand daddys shotgun. Funny how them crazy founding fathers decided to give the militia the right to bear military arms and then include everyone in the definition of militia. Seems like they knew a state legislature and governor would break two federal and one state laws.
The AG’s statement about this being a comprehensive law is a joke. Had king cuomo not shoved this bill through the process based on the still tattered emotions from Sandy Hook and put some actual thought into this bill a more watered down version may have hit the floor for a vote. Now we see items like cheaper hunting licenses to stifle the cries of frustration of NY’s gun owners such as myself. When we didn’t buy that bribe their now trying to modify the number of rounds in a magazine whether it be 10, 7 or what ever? I can just see the first lawsuit for an illegal search when a police officer stops someone and questions them on how many rounds they have in their weapon?
At this point in time with the number of counties that have passed resolutions to repeal the NY SAFE Act it is evident to a first grader and should be to a state politician where this law is wanted. And in case they can’t I will give you a hint. It’s New York City and a handful of the surrounding counties.
I pray that when the next election cycle comes around people look at which politician need to return to school and study the US Constitution and elect others that will not sway to the whims of the govoner. At one point I thought cuomo may be a good candidate for the president position but I damn sure will not be voting for him.