All about guns, legislation and politics in New York
Here is an MSNBC panel featuring New Yorkers Against Gun Violence mouthpiece Rob Wilcox discussing the Colorado recall elections. It’s a smörgåsbord of progressivist talking points: “common-sense gun laws”, the NRA bogeyman, extremism, incivility, stupidity and the threat to democracy with a Trayvon Martin reference thrown in as a bonus.
This is why Fox News is rolling all over them in the ratings.
Yesterday’s court meeting regarding our lawsuit against the SAFE Act has postponed. No new date has been set yet.
In the meantime, an NRA backed lawsuit regarding issuing pistol licenses to non-residents is getting some press.
Mayor Mike eats it in Colorado recall elections:
“Two Colorado Democrats who provided crucial support for a slate of tough new gun-control laws were voted out of office on Tuesday in a recall vote widely seen as a test of popular support for gun restrictions … The recall elections ousted two Democratic state senators, John Morse and Angela Giron, and replaced them with Republicans. Both defeats were painful for Democrats – Mr. Morse’s because he had been Senate president, and Ms. Giron’s because she represented a heavily Democratic, working-class slice of southern Colorado … As money and national attention poured into Colorado … the races became a symbol of the nation’s bitter fight over gun control, with one side bolstered by Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg of New York and the other by the National Rifle Association …”
So how bad was it exactly for Bloomberg?
.@SenGiron told the New Republic if either her or Morse lost, then MAIG "might as well fold up" #COrecall #COpolitics pic.twitter.com/cMslFI5rvT
— CO Peak Politics (@COpeakpolitics) September 11, 2013
First antigun RINO out of the gate:
“… Long Island Congressman Peter King has become the first Republican to announce a run for president three years from now, in 2016. King, on a visit to New Hampshire, told a local radio station on Friday that he came to the state because “right now I’m running for president.’’ …”
This can’t be ego driven as nobody outside of Long Island knows (or cares) who Pete King is. My guess is either he’s on drugs or suffering from dementia.
Anthony Colandro is running for the NRA Board of Directors. He’s the host of Gun for Hire Radio in New Jersey. He deserves the support of voting NRA members.
In hindsight, perhaps Governor Cuomo’s threatening elected sheriffs wasn’t such a good idea. More of them are speaking out against SAFE as the Daily Star reports:
“… Schoharie County Sheriff Tony Desmond said he has no intention of enforcing the law, and that his office won’t do anything that would cause law-abiding citizens to turn in their weapons or arrest them for possessing firearms …”
“… Delaware County Undersheriff Craig DuMond said he and Sheriff Tom Mills support the New York State Sheriff’s Association opinion on the law … “It is too broad and prevents the possession of many weapons that can be used legally,” he said. He is also against reducing the size of the magazine from 10 bullets. Mills will continue to enforce the laws as required by the Constitution, DuMond said. However, nobody has been arrested under the law’s provisions. “The issue is we believe it is unconstitutional,” DuMond said. It is being enforced “with a degree of common sense and judgement.” …”
Has New Yorkers Against Gun Violence’s funding been drying up? There is an interesting admission from noted antigun bigot Gloria Cruz in this Daily News story:
“… Gloria Cruz has been a tireless crusader against guns … Cruz gave up her position with New Yorkers Against Gun Violence last year after the group ran out of funding …”
That explains why they weren’t getting anywhere with their lobbying efforts. What it doesn’t do is help to explain what Gov. Cuomo was thinking when he pushed SAFE? If the gun control movement is so unpopular that they can’t find funding in New York City then what exactly did Cuomo think he was going to get in return for reviving a largely dead issue?
The Governor does not seem happy that candidates aren’t going along with his SAFE Act:
“Gov. Andrew Cuomo says law enforcement officials don’t get to pick and choose which laws to enforce — and that includes the sheriffs opposed to New York’s new gun restrictions. Talking to reporters Wednesday, Cuomo says law enforcement’s job is to enforce all the laws, which are enacted by the Legislature …”
Really? I can think of numerous incidents where police/prosecutors have refused to “enforce all the laws.” For example:
“A lawyer for Albany County District Attorney David Soares told a judge Friday that if voters don’t like the way the three-term Democrat wields his prosecutorial discretion, they can vote him out office. The argument emerged during a nearly 90-minute hearing pitting Soares against City Court Judge William Carter, who has threatened to hold Soares’ office in contempt of court for refusing to call witnesses against four Occupy Albany protesters whom Soares says he won’t prosecute. “It’s not something we think the people of Albany want us to do,” Soares’ special counsel, Christopher Horn, told acting state Supreme Court Justice Richard Platkin. “We have the discretion how to use our resources, and if the citizenry of Albany County decides they don’t like how we’re using our resources, they will vote us out.” …”
Exactly. If people don’t like what candidates are saying they won’t vote for them.
Besides, according to Cuomo, law enforcement loves his SAFE Act so clearly anyone opposed to it is doomed.
Governor Cuomo’s attempt to intimidate county sheriff’s into silence over their opposition to the SAFE Act isn’t working.
In the Republican primary for Saratoga Co. Sheriff:
“A Republican running for Saratoga County sheriff has turned a primary race … into a referendum on the way the department is led, and also on the state’s NY SAFE Act. Jeff Gildersleeve of Ballston Lake surprised many in the county’s Republican party by challenging Michael Zurlo of Stillwater, the party’s endorsed candidate for sheriff … On the trail, Gildersleeve rips into the state’s recently enacted gun regulations … A former firearms instructor and lifetime member of the National Rifle Association, he’s raised nearly $15,000 — all from July to August — including $9,000 from gun shops in Albany, Troy and Castleton-on-Hudson, according to campaign filings with the state. He is endorsed by the New York State Rifle & Pistol Association. Gildersleeve said the SAFE Act has grown into a major issue in the campaign. “I would not actively enforce it,” he said. …”
In the Democrat primary for Erie Co. Sheriff:
“… [Bert D. Dunn] offers no apologies for being a “Reagan Democrat” in his youth, and admires him for winning the Cold War. And Dunn still seems unable to warm up to Cuomo, especially after the governor pushed the strict new gun control law known as the NY SAFE Act. “Cuomo thought what he was doing would get him out front and boost his presidential hopes,” Dunn said. “Clearly, this was rushed through. He created an issue that made it difficult for us in law enforcement.” …”
The fact that it is coming up in primaries shows the issue isn’t going away and the likely damage it has done to Cuomo’s national political aspirations despite (biased) Sienna polling claiming he has regained his popularity.