A slew of potential Democrats have announced their intentions to challenge upstate Republican Congressmen.
In CD-27, Rep. Chris Collins has a Republican challenger Frank C. Smierciak II.
According to The Daily News he’s big on guns:
“… Well I think, first off, the (NY SAFE Act) needs to be repealed completely. Same with the pistol permitting process. I believe strongly in constitutional carry nationwide, and that’s because it’s your right to own whatever firearm you want, to have one for protection — personal protection, for home defense, whatever you want to have it for …”
To be fair, Collins does co-sponsor H.R.38 which supports both licenses to carry and constitutional carry.
“… Well, Collins hasn’t done all that much regarding the Second Amendment. He has voiced his support saying that the SAFE Act should be repealed but he hasn’t really done much for that. In terms of pistol permitting, he has gotten behind the concealed carry reciprocity bill … The flaw with the concealed reciprocity bill is it has this little caveat in it that says states must recognize permits from other states as long as they allow their own residents to carry. Well that’s pretty easily opening the door for states like New York or California to just outright deny people the right to carry …”
Collins cannot do anything about the SAFE Act because it is a state law.
Smierciak concerns about the reciprocity bill are unfounded. New York will never outlaw concealed carry because politicians use may-issue to shake down people for money and favors.
It remains to be seen whether or not Smierciak can put together the resources to seriously challenge Collins.