Here is raw footage of NRA News visiting Michelle Schimel in her office this past Tuesday to ask about her microstamping bill. It contains material they didn’t broadcast on NRA News.
NRA News interviews Michelle Schimel, Brian Kolb and Steve McLaughlin
Legislative Report #18
Legislative Report #18 is now online.
Fidler FAIL
Republican David Storobin appears to have scored an upset win over Democrat Lew Fidler in yesterday special election in SD-27. This is particularly amusing as there is a roughly a 3-1 Democrat enrollment advantage in the district. Even more entertaining is the e-mail I receiving from a person in the district saying Fidler’s lackeys did a mailing against Storobin saying that the Tea Party people were opposed to “common sense gun control.”
Like David Weprin, Fidler is a typical Democrat machine candidate who never had serious opposition before and tried coasting on little more than the heavy enrollment advantage. That, along with his gun control pitch, looks to have failed.
Meeting Michelle
We had our 3rd annual lobby day yesterday in the LOB. An estimated 2000-2500 people showed up from across the state.
I talked Ginny Simone into visiting Michelle Schimel’s office. I told the staffer I had a NRA News crew and they’d like to interview Schimel about her microstamping bill. Right after I did that about a dozen or so gunnies showed up to complain about it as well. That probably convinced her to let us in.
Schimel was really mad. She started off by complaining we didn’t make an appointment and ended by saying something about editing the video. Ginny interviewed her for maybe 10-12 minutes and the whole thing will eventually be on NRA News.
Click on the images for a larger view.
McCarthy and redistricting
Hopes that Carolyn McCarthy would be redistricted into a primary/general election fight against another incumbent have been diminished. Gary Ackerman in CD-5 has announced he’s retiring. Lines still aren’t finalized so it is still possible she could be pitted against Pete King or another Democrat.
GOP Senate candidates
There’s going to be a 3-way Senate primary for the Republican nomination with the winner going up against Kirsten Gillibrand this fall. The candidates are:
- Wendy Long, attorney and former law clerk for SCOTUS Justice Clarence Thomas
- Nassau Co. Comptroller George Maragos
- Congressman Bob Turner
On guns, Long has no public record on the issues that I’m aware of. Maragos made some vague statements about being against gun control, although he never returned the candidate questionnaire I sent him for his comptroller run. Turner claimed to be an NRA member during his campaign, then voted against H.R. 822 at the request of Mayor Bloomberg. He mentions his vote in this story:
“… I asked Turner if there were other areas where he disagreed with House Speaker John Boehner. “No, maybe the gun bill,” he said, after a long pause …”
Microstamping bill amended
The Senate microstamping bill has been amended to S-675C and resubmitted to Rules.
The issue has been getting more unpopular each year and it’s proponents must be starting to piss off their colleagues. Michelle Schimel was booted from the Assembly floor because they did not want to hear her ranting about it during budget debates.
Meanwhile, Steve Englebright stated on the floor that he had a letter proving that a New York manufacturer (Remington) was already making microstamped firearms for government contracts. That is patently false.
Antigun censorship
Senate Democrats are crying censorship over the GOP Majority’s refusal to take up their agenda including microstamping.