He didn’t get the GOP nomination for county sheriff, but Assemblyman Al Graf did get the nod to run for district court judge.
Based upon his record while in the state legislature, gun owners should support him in this race.
A minimal burden
The NRA lost a California court case regarding the imposition of firearms transfer fee:
“… In a 3-0 decision on Thursday, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco said the law advanced California’s interest in disarming people who are forbidden from possessing guns and rifles, while imposing only a “minimal” burden on core constitutional rights under the Second Amendment …”
That this comes out of the 9th Circus does not surprise me. It also builds upon the earlier NYC licensing fee case the 2nd Circuit ruled was also constitutional. The difference with this one though is that part of the fee goes for law enforcement efforts against illegal purchases. I can see where a court would agree that the state has an interest in preventing prohibited persons from obtaining firearms, but why should the cost be put upon legal purchasers and not the taxpaying public as a whole?
Why does Shannon Watts still have a job?
Sebastian notes that Shannon Watts spewed some idiocy to The Hill on suppressors and that has got me wondering why on earth does Mike Bloomberg keep her on the payroll?
With a background in public relations I understand why Bloomberg hired her in the first place, but she is so hilariously bad at presenting her case that I cannot believe even the most ardent gun control proponents see her as an asset to the cause.
Michael Bloomberg is not a stupid man. He is a self-made billionaire with keen business sense who did not make all that money by making bad decisions. Even if he’s porking her, I cannot figure out what positive aspects he believes she brings to the table.
Huntington Supervisor’s race
A bunch of state legislators are running for local offices this year where they can make as much if not more money for less effort.
Newsday reports on the latest of these, “Huntington GOP picks assemblyman to run for town supervisor“:
“The Huntington Republican Committee has selected Assemb. Chad Lupinacci to run for town supervisor. Lupinacci (R-Huntington) will face Democratic contender Tracey Edwards, who sits on the town board …”
I have nothing on Edwards and frankly don’t care. Lupinacci sold out gun owners and voted for the SAFE Act so screw him. Support Edwards in this race.
Unhelpful hysteria
Breitbart reports, “NY Dem Pushes Bill Labeling Traditional Guns as ‘Child Operated Firearms’“:
“New York State Senator José M. Serrano (D-29) is pushing legislation that will require retailers to label a traditional gun which lacks a disabling device as a “child operated firearm.” The legislation–Senate Bill S3444–then bans the sale of any “child operated firearm.” …”
Some hysteria from NRA-ILA, “New York City Lawmaker Proposes New Gun Ban“:
“The term “childproof handgun” sounds innocuous enough, but like most of New York’s unworkable gun control laws, the devil is in the details. Sen. Jose Serrano (D-Bronx) is the mastermind behind S.3444, which is as far-fetched as microstamping, “smart guns” and ammunition background check databases. Undeterred by failure after failure, anti-gun lawmakers in the New York Senate are back pitching more gun control …”
Serrano is not the mastermind behind the bill. It has been around since long before he first took office. It is one of the batch of antigun program bills that are reintroduced every year. It’s good for gun owners to keep in contact with their elected representatives, but the wording of NRA’s alert is not helpful.
Pick Schroeder in Buffalo race
It’s official, there will be no Republican candidate for Mayor of Buffalo. Whomever wins the Democrat primary will be the next Mayor. The Democrat candidates are incumbent Mayor Byron Brown, Comptroller Mark Schroeder and County Legislator Betty Jean Grant.
I’ve already covered the first two, as to Grant here is her record on the issue:
- “Betty Jean Grant Presents Myra Robinson-Moses With Citizen of the Month Award“
- Gun buyback packs powerful message to children
- Erie County legislators endorse repeal of new gun laws, as Cuomo stands firm
- Supporters of NY SAFE Act hold rally in Martin Luther King Park: Small crowd turns out for rally in Buffalo park
Knowing this, Schroeder is the clear choice for gun voters. Second choice is debatable, but I’d give Brown preference over Grant.
H.R. 2620
NRA just sent out an alert over the introduction of H.R.2620 which removes the “sporting purposes” clauses in federal firearms law. It has 38 original sponsors including Rep. Chris Collins.
Collins has a mixed record on guns starting out years ago as a member of the Bloomberg-proxy County Executives Against Illegal Guns, but has shifted more towards the 2A side as his political career progressed. I still don’t trust him on the issue, but at least he is point in the right direction now.
Curran v. Martins
Assemblyman Charles Lavine has dropped out of the race for Nassau County Executive and endorsed his Democrat opponent Laura Curran.
“I’m certainly grateful to have Chuck’s support in this race…United we’ll have victory in November.” https://t.co/tdTa51qTb0
— Laura Curran (@LauraCurran2017) May 25, 2017
She still has to get past George Maragos in a Democrat primary, but I don’t think that will be a problem. That would make the general election a choice between Curran and Republican Jack Martins.
Both of them stink on ice, but you have to pick one, so go with Curran to stick it to Martins’ for his vote on the SAFE Act.
Vote for Boyle’s opponent
Senator Phil Boyle was endorsed yesterday by the Suffolk County Republican’s to run for county sheriff. He already had the Conservative Party endorsement.
Incumbent Vincent DeMarco is not running for re-election so vote for whomever the Democrats end up with as their nominee. Doesn’t matter who it is. Boyle is a piece of garbage.
SCOTUS on gerrymandering
Gun owners spend a lot of time thinking about the next gun case SCOTUS will take up but there is another issue pending in the courts that could have a big impact especially in New York. See The Hill’s article, “Will the Supreme Court draw the line on gerrymandering?“
Roughly 95% of our state legislature is re-elected every cycle in large part due to decades of gerrymandering which have made all but a handful of races competitive. Since both chambers have to agree on district lines the majorities in each draw the districts to favor the party in power, Democrats in the Assembly and Republicans in the Senate.
If SCOTUS were to issue a decision that invalidates gerrymandering and New York was forced to redraw districts fairly it would impact gun rights in two ways:
First, there would be more competitive elections than there are now increasing opportunities for political action. That’s good.
Second, it would in all likelihood wipe out the Senate Republicans. That’s bad, but since it is only a matter of time before that happens anyway, it isn’t such a big deal.
Knowing this, I think this could be a plus for us.