Author: admin

Rob Astorino has picked Chemung County Sheriff Christopher Moss to be his running mate.

Moss has been a vocal critic of the SAFE Act:

“… Cuomo pushed the sheriffs to stop publicly speaking out against the act, Moss said. “The governor was of the opinion that the sheriffs around the state should not be interjecting their personal opinions in reference to the law,” Moss said, adding that Cuomo said sheriffs can’t do that and enforce the law. One person briefed on the meeting said Cuomo threatened to remove sheriffs from office, a little-used power afforded the state’s chief executive under the state constitution. Moss would not confirm this. He did say the meeting was heated at times, but overall he described it as “cordial.” …”

It’s good that Astorino has picked someone outside the Ed Cox/Al D’Amato/Dean Skelos clown cabal.

According to Senator Ted O’Brien, the SAFE Act is working:

“… on the SAFE Act gun control law, O’Brien said there may be aspects that could be improved, but most of its provisions are reasonable.  “I personally think the SAFE Act is working,” O’Brien said …”

Ok.  Then campaign on it.

He is up against a well-known opponent Rich Funke and is one of the more vulnerable Democrats in the Senate.  If O’Brien really believes this then he ought to make it a signature issue in his re-election campaign.

Prediction: because he is a hunter, he tries Fudd pandering saying SAFE doesn’t affect “sportsmen.”

From the NY Post, “GOP lawmakers mad over ‘hidden’ gun-control funding in state budget“:

“Pro-gun GOP lawmakers are smoking mad that they voted for millions of dollars in funding for the SAFE Act — the state’s strict gun-control law — claiming they didn’t know the spending was hidden in state budget bills.  As part of the newly adopted state budget, legislators approved the reappropriation of $28 million to fund a gun database and another $3.2 million in new money for SAFE Act staff.  Two GOP senators blasted the maneuver.  “We were told there was no funding for it. If there was, I would have voted against it,” said one senator, who requested anonymity.  Several Assembly GOP lawmakers said they knew only about the gun-law funding after a state Budget Division briefing.”

Bullshit.

The Assembly openly debated this funding on the chamber floor in public session.  Everybody knew the money was there.  Proof of this can be found in the April 11 edition of the Adirondack Daily Enterprise, “Stec warns against state gun database“:

“Assemblyman Dan Stec is warning against a provision in the state budget which would fund a state database for gun records, required by last year’s Secure Ammunition and Firearms Enforcement Act.  Stec, a Republican from Queensbury, objects to a $3.2 million allocation in the budget to implement the database.  That line item falls within a provision that gives state police $88.9 million for technical police service programs. The state gave $27.7 million for a SAFE Act database last year, according to news reports …”