Gun Politics New York

The Poughkeepsie Journal interviewed candidates John Faso and Zephyr Teachout who are running for the open CD-19 seat.

On the topic of guns:

“… On gun control, Teachout favors eliminating purchases at gun shows without a background check and ensuring guns are denied to individuals on the No-Fly List. Faso said gun-show transactions typically are “informal sales” between people “known to each other.” “The vast majority of gun crime is not committed with long guns,” he said. “The vast majority is committed with handguns. And there should be strict controls and regulations on handguns.” …”

The latest independent poll showed both candidates effectively tied, although I am inclined to believe an earlier biased poll showing Teachout leading by a few points.

Last week Colleen Deacon received the endorsement of ARS.

This week her political standing dropped:

“… Cook Political Report moved its rating Thursday to “leans Republican.” While the publication said Colleen Deacon, the Democratic challenger in the race, is an “appealing nominee,” they view [John] Katko, R-Camillus, as the front-runner in the contest … Cook is the first major political forecaster to move the race from “toss up” to a rating favoring either party …”

New ad from Hillary:

I think this ad is very effective. The NRA should copy it.

Guns were a topic in a debate between Adam Haber and Elaine Phillips for the open SD-7 seat:

“… Phillips, the Flower Hill Village mayor, said she “absolutely” supported “common sense gun legislation.” She said that she grew up in western Pennsylvania, where hunting was popular in her community, and was well-educated on gun safety. “What we need to do in New York State is make sure we give the resources to those individuals, our law enforcement, so we don’t have illegal guns brought into New York State,” Phillips said. “So criminals on the street can be apprehended, so we can clean up our streets, we can enforce, but it is law enforcement that needs the resources.” Haber, a former commodities trader and Roslyn school board trustee, said the two may have differing ideas of what “common sense” means. He said he understands that citizens have rights to own or carry a firearm, but he believes “gun control is an important part of keeping our community safe.” …”

Translation: Both candidates stink.

Right now, I’d give Haber the edge in winning the seat, giving a +1 to the mainline Democrat caucus.

Gun control astroturf Americans for Responsible Solutions has endorsed challenger Colleen Deacon in CD-24:

“… Americans for Responsible Solutions PAC, a gun control group co-founded by former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords and her husband, Mark Kelly, endorsed Deacon, D-Syracuse, in the 24th Congressional District race … Kelly, who held a conference call with reporters to announce the endorsements, said the candidates and incumbents they’re supporting are “champions of the vocal majority” who want to address gun violence …”

This endorsement is all we need to know about Deacon’s stance on our issues.

“… Kelly said he and Giffords will be embarking on a bus tour throughout the country to campaign for candidates in key races. It wasn’t revealed whether the pair will visit central New York for an event with Deacon …”

Nobody cares about this.

The real question is will ARS cough up some cash for Deacon.  Their PAC is what separates them from the run-of-the-mill antigun astroturf.