All about guns, legislation and politics in New York
Wednesday’s Newsbits:
Jurisprudence:
Legislation:
Politics:
Today is Gun Control Day in New York.
The festivities kicked off with a presser in Manhattan with Comptroller Brad Lander and Public Advocate Jumaane Williams touting the release of their report, “NYC’s Crisis Management System Interventions Reduced Gun Violence by 21%, Comptroller Lander’s Report Finds.”
Both are trying to generate attention for their Mayoral campaigns which are currently going nowhere.
Meanwhile in Albany, the usual suspects held a rally in the LOB.
Here’s a short clip of yet another Mayoral hopeful Senator Zellnor Myrie ranting about President Trump terminating the Office of Gun Violence Prevention and touting his bill S-1289 to create a state version.
Myrie’s Mayoral campaign isn’t setting the world on fire either.
The New York Times has an article on ex-Gov. Cuomo forming a pro-Isreal group as a way to reboot his political career. In the article is this nugget:
“Last year, as a growing schism over Israel tore at the Democratic Party, Andrew M. Cuomo threw himself into the fray. He announced he would lead a new advocacy group leveraging his clout as New York’s former governor to beat back growing anti-Israel sentiment on the left. … Almost a year later, though, the Cuomo group’s promises appear to have amounted to little beyond a few private informational receptions and opinion essays. Now, as Mr. Cuomo begins a comeback campaign for mayor of New York City, the group’s work provides one of the clearest windows into how he has sought to use well-timed political projects to re-enter the public sphere after his scandal-tarred resignation as governor. Others included a national gun safety group and a new political action committee to support favored candidates. … Rich Azzopardi, Mr. Cuomo’s spokesman, defended the efforts, which he called a reflection of Mr. Cuomo’s desire to continue work he had done as governor to tighten New York’s gun laws and fight antisemitism …”
His gun control group was as inactive as his pro-Isreal group. I could not recall hearing about it so I did a search and found this from ’22:
“Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who resigned more than a year ago after allegations of sexual harassment, said in a video Wednesday that he will start a political action committee “to elect the right people to politics,” form a gun-control group and launch his own weekly podcast … Cuomo also teased something called the “Gun Safe America” project, which he said he will unveiled soon …”
As far as I can tell “Gun Safe America” never got off the ground.
All this appears to be primarily astrotruf meant to keep his name circulating in internal Democrat party politics.
Senate Codes Committee agenda for Monday March 10 @ 11:30am:
Ex-Govenor Andrew Cuomo is trying another political comeback. After much speculation, he formally announced he is running for Mayor of New York City.
The fact that he is able to make this run highlights the pathetic shape the Democrat party is in. In a crowded field of candidates he absolutely can win the expected party primary with a plurality, not majority, of votes.
Wednesday’s Newsbits:
Jurisprudence:
Legislation:
Politics:
Now that President Trump has disbanded Biden’s so-called “White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention”, New Yorkers Against Gun Violence is lobbying to make New York’s own “Office of Gun Violence Prevention” permanent.
It’s just a money-funnel for electeds to pay off their cronies back home. It serves no useful purpose.
Senator Gillibrand has introduced S.597, prohibiting the purchase of certain firearms by individuals under 21 years of age.
From the Olean Times Herald:
“U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand is sponsoring legislation to raise the minimum age to purchase military-style semiautomatic rifles and high-capacity ammunition clips from 18 to 21, the same age requirement that already applies to purchasing handguns from federally licensed dealers … “Guns are the leading cause of death for children and teenagers in America today,” the senator said in a press statement. “Year after year, deadly assault weapons inflict devastating and avoidable harm on our families, schools and communities, causing children, parents and teachers to live with the fear that the next school shooting may happen in their community.” Gillibrand said the Age 21 Act “offers a critical safeguard to prevent such tragedies, decreasing the threat of gun violence against our kids.” …”
I don’t think we have anything to worry about for two reasons.
First, I believe only 2-3 of her bills have ever actually been signed into law and they were meaningless fluff, renaming buildings or something like that. If she intros something, it’s a solid bet that it won’t be going anywhere.
Second, the 5th Circuit recently ruled such a law unconstitutional and that followed a state law in Virginia going down in 2023. A new lawsuit was just filed in Massachusetts on this issue. It is not looking good for this type of law.
The Amsterdam News reports:
… “District Attorney Bragg understands that safety and justice require investment in our youth and communities to prevent violence and crime before it happens and break the cycle of trauma,” said Rebecca Fischer, executive director of New Yorkers Against Gun Violence, who recently endorsed Bragg’s re-election campaign. “Empowering our young people through leadership and engagement in their own communities is an evidenced-based approach to reducing gun violence.” …
This endorsement is meaningless as Bragg has no serious challengers and therefore NYAGV has nothing to do to back up their endorsement.