Teri Weaver at the Post-Standard asks, which was debated longer on the Senate floor: a bill making yogurt the official state snack or the SAFE Act?
The yogurt debate took 44 minutes. SAFE was done in less than 30.
GOP legislators lying about SAFE funding
From the NY Post, “GOP lawmakers mad over ‘hidden’ gun-control funding in state budget“:
“Pro-gun GOP lawmakers are smoking mad that they voted for millions of dollars in funding for the SAFE Act — the state’s strict gun-control law — claiming they didn’t know the spending was hidden in state budget bills. As part of the newly adopted state budget, legislators approved the reappropriation of $28 million to fund a gun database and another $3.2 million in new money for SAFE Act staff. Two GOP senators blasted the maneuver. “We were told there was no funding for it. If there was, I would have voted against it,” said one senator, who requested anonymity. Several Assembly GOP lawmakers said they knew only about the gun-law funding after a state Budget Division briefing.”
Bullshit.
The Assembly openly debated this funding on the chamber floor in public session. Everybody knew the money was there. Proof of this can be found in the April 11 edition of the Adirondack Daily Enterprise, “Stec warns against state gun database“:
“Assemblyman Dan Stec is warning against a provision in the state budget which would fund a state database for gun records, required by last year’s Secure Ammunition and Firearms Enforcement Act. Stec, a Republican from Queensbury, objects to a $3.2 million allocation in the budget to implement the database. That line item falls within a provision that gives state police $88.9 million for technical police service programs. The state gave $27.7 million for a SAFE Act database last year, according to news reports …”
SAFE lawsuit fundraiser shoot at DCPA
Legislative Report #16
Legislative Report #16 is now online.
Raising eyebrows and lowering the bar
Buffalo-area Assemblyman David DiPietro is holding a fundraiser raffle with guns as prizes.
Let the whining and teeth-gnashing begin:
“… DiPietro, a fierce critic of Gov. Cuomo’s gun control law that passed last year, said he knew “it’s red meat for a lot of people downstate.” “There is such a disconnect between the New York City people and the rest of the state,” he said.”The upper crust in Manhattan and on the Upper East Side, they have no clue.” …”
Manhattan Assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal then proves DiPietro right by responding:
“… “After learning about this event, I must admit that my upper West Side eyebrows were raised,” she said. “I would hope that elected officials would set the bar, not lower it.” …”
Really? Considering the sheer volume of disreputable and corrupt politicians this state has produced in recent memory, the overwhelming majority of which were her fellow NYC Democrats who she lacked the courage to speak out against, her statement perfectly demonstrates the point DiPietro is trying to make.
Antigun astroturf rally in Albany
Divestment campaign
New Yorkers Against Gun Violence is pushing to get people to divest their retirement accounts of gun company stocks. They are part of a non-Bloomberg coalition of leftist astroturf. They haven’t even bothered to update Bill de Blasio’s title.
SAFE claims another business
Another company is leaving New York because of SAFE:
“Defenshield Inc., a maker of ballistic shields for the military and law enforcement agencies, is moving to Florida … company executives told the chamber of commerce they were moving to St. Augustine because of Florida’s lower taxes and better climate … There may have been one other factor in the company’s decision. A story in the St. Augustine Record on Saturday said Defenshield founder William Collins White III is a “self-professed gun enthusiast” and was a fan of Florida’s less-stringent firearms laws. It was not immediately clear whether New York’s SAFE Act restrictions on military-style assault weapons interferes with the company’s operations …”
Good thing New York is Open for Business.
They think we forget
MotherJones must think we have short memories with their article, “The NRA Meets Its Potent New Foe: Moms“:
“For years, advocates of stricter gun laws have rallied at the barricades of the National Rifle Association’s annual meeting. But this year, as the gun lobby convenes in Indianapolis, there’s a new posse in town. They’re mothers … And they’re dead set on disarming the NRA of its outsize political power …”
Oh shit, Moms!
If they ever get involved with gun politics we could be in real trouble. Nobody has ever tried to mobilize that force before ….
Astorino looking for gun money
Rob Astorino is looking to raise campaign cash off the Journal News decision to publish an interactive map of gun owners in the lower Hudson Valley.
So far Astorino is doing a good job reaching out for the gun vote. This big fuck you to the Journal News should help him with more than just money. It sets the tone of how his campaign will deal with an unfriendly downstate media.