All about guns, legislation and politics in New York
Monday’s Newsbits:
Elections:
Jurisprudence:
Legislation:
Politics:
Governor Cuomo announced his plans to unveil yet another gun control proposal during his State of the State Address:
“People convicted of serious misdemeanor crimes in other states should not be allowed to receive a gun license in New York, Gov. Andrew Cuomo proposed on Sunday as he began to roll out his 2020 agenda. The proposal would cover people convicted of misdemeanors in other states that are deemed to be “serious offenses” like domestic violence, forcible torching and other sex offenses … The proposal would authorize licensing entities to search for such crimes and deny licenses for those with out-of-state offenses the that apply. It would also prevent renewal of a license if an intervening conviction occurs …”
At first glace this seems to be a bunch of fluff. Being a “may issue” state, licensing agents can already do this if they want to. However, having been around long enough I know better than to make such an assumption. We’re going to have to wait until the program bill is introduced to see exactly what the Governor is proposing.
The Governor will give his 2020 State of the State on January 8 in Albany. People wanting to attend the SoS can go here between the 20th and 30th to enter their name into a lottery system for tickets.
Queens County Politics reports that Congressman Tom Suozzi will face a Democrat primary challenger next year:
“Melanie D’Arrigo is a health care advocate from L.I. who briefly lived in Long Island City and she is running a progressive grassroots campaign to unseat incumbent politician U.S Rep. Thomas Suozzi (D-L.I., Little Neck) from New York’s 3rd District … The L.I. native … wants to close the loopholes in gun shows … D’Arrigo has endorsements from Muslims For Progress, Our Progressive Future, which supports young progressives who want to run for office and the National Organization for Women. “Melanie D’Arrigo doesn’t only support our issues, but she will lead on them. We’re proud to support her bold vision to repeal the Hyde Amendment, confront gun violence, and put her healthcare expertise to work for Long Island’s women and families,” said Sonia Ossorio, president of NOW New York …”
From her campaign website:
Common Sense Gun Safety Laws
Thoughts and prayers haven’t stopped the rampant gun violence in our country. We need meaningful action. I support Common Sense Gun Safety Laws to ensure our families are safe from those who intend to do us harm. That includes expanding background checks, closing gun show loopholes, banning assault weapons and high capacity magazines, enacting a federal red flag law and implementing a national licensing program.
From her Twitter feed:
We never think it will happen in our neighborhood, until it does.
We can’t wait any longer for:
✅Universal background checks
✅Closing gun show loopholes
✅Assault weapon & high-capacity magazine ban
✅Federal red flag law
✅National licensing programhttps://t.co/c1f52g8nBP— Melanie D'Arrigo for Congress (@DarrigoMelanie) October 5, 2019
A second contestant for AD-93 steps forward:
“Chappaqua resident and attorney Kristen Browde announced Thursday that she will be vying for the Democratic nomination for the 93rd Assembly District, the second candidate to step forward for the seat in as many days. Browde said if elected to the Assembly she will continue the fight to strengthen gun laws … motivation for Browde was that her youngest son, now a Horace Greeley High School sophomore, remarked how students participate in mandatory lockdown drills. Districts across the state are spending millions on security despite New York having some of the strictest gun laws in the nation, Browde said. “At the end of the day you can buy a high-powered weapon and shoot up a school in the state of New York easier than buying a pack of Sudafed and that’s just wrong,” Browde said. “Our kids shouldn’t be growing up with this and we shouldn’t be having to spend millions of dollars to protect our schools against this kind of violence.” …”
It does not seem to occur to Browde that if school’s are spending all this money in spite of New York’s gun control laws, that would mean those laws are a failure. If the laws are a failure, why compound that failure with more of the same?
From Browde’s Twitter feed:
Four police officers were shot this time. There were armed guards at many previous mass shooting scenes, from Parkland to Orlando… But you and Trump think more guns is the answer?
It doesn’t work. Stop carrying water for the manufacturers and start worrying about safety.
— Kristen Browde (@ChrissieSeeB) October 27, 2018
Thursday’s Newsbits:
Elections:
Legislation:
NRA:
Politics:
With incumbent David Buchwald running for Congress, Bedford town Supervisor Christopher Burdick announced his intention to run for Buchwald’s State Assembly seat.
“… On Wednesday, Bedford town Supervisor Christopher Burdick announced a run for the New York State Assembly. The 93rd District includes Bedford, Lewisboro, Mount Kisco, North Salem, Pound Ridge and parts of New Castle, North Castle, Harrison and White Plains … On his website, he listed essential issues on which the district’s residents need to be heard in Albany, including property taxes, state funding for critical water and sewer projects, the climate crisis, local school funding, common-sense gun control, affordable housing for local seniors, workers and young families, reproductive health rights and the opioid crisis …”
I don’t see his website and I cannot find any other statements by Burdick on the issue.
The district has about 41K registered Democrats to 23K Republicans so it’s Burdick’s race to lose. No Republican opponent has announced yet.
Bill S-2422A has been amended and resubmitted to Consumer Protection. The bill pertains to reporting requires for gun manufactures.
From the Justification Statement:
Currently there are no federal rules or laws requiring that firearms manufacturers report how many firearms they make and sell. The lack of recorded data has left discrepancies in the accuracy of the statistics available. Many companies report weapons production in one year, and then disappear from the ATF data record as if they had ceased operations, only to reappear in later years. Having a statistical understanding with regards to how many firearms are lawfully produced and lawfully sold in the state of New York will result in an increased awareness of how many firearms are entering the state every year and how many are being distributed to licensed dealers and private sellers.
“Though New York has some of the strongest gun laws in the nation, those who can’t legally purchase guns in the state based on age or criminal background often turn to the black market … Nearly 70 percent of the 8,439 firearms recovered in New York in 2013 came from out of state, according to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Many of them were acquired legally in Southern states with looser gun laws and smuggled north through the I-95 corridor, known as the ‘iron pipeline.” (Albany Times Union, 7/14/15). This legislation will empower New York law enforcement to determine whether all of the firearms manufactured by a particular company are actually sold through legal channels. The danger posed to our citizens in the event that any number of such firearms are legally manufactured and not legally sold or distributed (and therefore adding to black market inventory) is painfully obvious.
Currently there is no companion in the Assembly.
The D&C reports that Assemblyman Harry Bronson is facing a Democrat primary challenger next year:
“Alex Yudelson, the chief of staff for Rochester Mayor Lovely Warren, is seeking the Assembly seat now held by fellow Democrat Harry Bronson. On Monday evening, Yudelson, 27, announced his campaign for the 138th Assembly district, which includes Henrietta, Chili, and portions of Rochester …”
His connection to the Mayor gives his campaign a degree of credibility.
What is position on 2A?
“… In the Obama administration, according to his news release, Yudelson worked with professional sports leagues and athletes to support Obama’s agenda; helped develop gun violence prevention and criminal justice initiatives; and worked on the Affordable Care Act and a campaign to prevent sexual assault on college campuses …”
Plus this:
Thanks to @RepJoeMorelle for holding a town hall meeting on gun violence at Mt. Olivet Baptist Church in #ROC pic.twitter.com/NqFRriQkRK
— Alex Yudelson (@AlexYudelson) August 28, 2019
Clearly not supportive, but light on specifics.
Tuesday’s Newsbits:
Armed Citizen:
Elections:
Jurisprudence:
NRA:
Politics:
David Buchwald isn’t the only CD-17 candidate who supports gun control as the River Journal reports:
“The field continues to widen for the soon-to-be open congressional seat in NY-17, a district encompassing Rockland County and parts of Westchester County. Dr. Evelyn Farkas, a former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense under President Barack Obama, and Allison Fine, the former chairwoman of the national board of National Abortion Rights Action League (NARAL) Pro Choice America Foundation, announced their campaigns in November. They are competing for the Democratic nomination in the election for the seat held by Rep. Nita Lowey, who recently announced she will retire next year … Fine said, “I am running for Congress because our country is broken in some fundamental ways … our children are hiding beneath their desks because of rampant gun violence …” … “My top priority in Congress is to defend our Democracy from foreign interference and from a President intent on undermining the rule of law and eroding our values, so that the next generation has the opportunity to succeed,” said Farkas. “ … We must enact common sense gun reforms and do better by our children …” …”
Farkas has this statement on her campaign website:
I believe defending our country means preventing domestic and international terrorism and preventing gun violence.
And offers up this on Twitter:
In war zones around the world, I saw what assault weapons can do in the hands of trained soldiers. They have no place in our homes and communities.
It’s time for new laws to prevent gun violence including a ban on assault weapons. #NY17 pic.twitter.com/tu0Qb7Gwc8
— Evelyn Farkas (@EvelynNFarkas) December 5, 2019
Fine does not currently have a 2A position statement on her campaign website, but did say this on Twitter:
The only way to stop domestic violence, is to understand domestic violence. We must increase funding for domestic violence services to ensure every survivor has a path to safety.
In Congress, I will fight for VAWA, tighter gun safety laws, and DV services funding.#DVAM2019
— Allison Fine (@Afine) November 27, 2019