All about guns, legislation and politics in New York
Great comment in this article from the Rockland Times regarding the county legislature’s debate over resolutions opposing the SAFE Act:
“… Democratic Legislator Tony Earl mentioned that when he was a young boy in the south he remembers that family members purchased firearms to protect themselves from potential attacks from thieves and the Klu Klux Klan …”
Barrett is stopping all sales to New York government agencies. I believe the NYPD has a few of their .50s. Too bad for them.
On the Governor calling for lowering hunting license fees:
Hard not to view this license fee lowering and streamling as Cuomo’s effort to reach out to hunters after the gun control law.
— Capital Tonight (@CapitalTonight) February 20, 2013
No. The last fee restructuring was seen by most as a mistake from the start. Plus any warm feelings this “outreach” might generate are going to be wiped away the first time hunters are forced to go through a state background check in order to to buy a box ammo.
UPDATE: As I was writing this a reporter from City & State called me on this issue. I’m quoted here.
It is generally believed that Gov. Cuomo pushed gun control as part of a presidential bid in 2016. If Fred Dicker’s column today is accurate, it may have been done for nothing:
“A new poll from a respected Republican firm has senior Democrats worried that Gov. Cuomo is headed for a massive re-election victory next year — which could damage his chances to run for president in the process. The poll, which was being intensely studied last week by Democratic operatives, reinforced the belief that if the governor faces a weak Republican opponent — such as Buffalo businessman Carl Paladino, who was crushed by Cuomo in 2010 — the contest will be discounted from the start by a national media focused on potential presidential candidates for 2016. “Who in the national press corps is going to pay attention to Andrew’s re-election if he’s running against a bozo like Paladino?’’ asked a Democratic activist with ties to the governor. “And even if it’s not Paladino but some other Republican no one ever heard of, what good does that do Andrew for the future?’’ the activist continued …”
So, in other words, it will not matter what issues Cuomo decides to champion as Governor because the media won’t be paying much attention to him during his 2014 re-election campaign. Essentially he pissed off countless people from all around the country for nothing.
The NYC teacher’s pension fund has divested it’s portfolio of gun companies. With $46.5 billion in assets, dropping a measly $13.5 million in investments is nothing, and probably goes on all the time as part of managing a fund that size. Nevertheless, Comptroller John Liu did try to score some cheap political points:
“… “There is no need to support these companies, whose products can destroy lives and shatter communities in the blink of an eye,” said Comptroller Liu. “Our investment portfolio gains nothing by doing business with these firms, and this is a sound decision that sends an important message about our commitment to addressing the plague of gun violence in every possible way.” …”
According this post at GothamSchools, trustees are legally required to only invest or divest in shares that are in the best interest of the fund’s long-term health. Given that the firearms industry is one of the few sectors of the economy doing well right now it must have been hard for Liu to say that with a straight face.
Interestingly, the vote to divest was not unanimous:
“… Raymond Sarola, a senior policy adviser in the mayor’s office of pensions and investments, said in a statement, “Pension decisions should rarely, if ever, be based on other criteria except what’s best for pensioners, which should benefit taxpayers, as well.” …”
He’s right. It’s just really ironic that a guy who works for Mayor Mike is the one who said that.
Maybe Liu deserves the benefit of the doubt and we should take him at his word that he is really looking out for the pensioners best interests. So, hows the rest of his investment strategy paying off?
“Comptroller John Liu has awarded $6 million in contracts to manage city pension funds to a firm under investigation by New York federal and state prosecutors over claims it ripped off millions from public-employee pension systems around the world, The Post has learned. Boston-based State Street Corp. has faced litigation from state governments in Washington and California, as well as the United Kingdom, dating back to 2009 — each alleging the company fraudulently overbilled their retirement funds during so-called “foreign exchange” trades. But that didn’t stop Liu from doing business with the company — his administration disclosed the contract in Friday’s public record …”
Well, maybe he’s just got a lot on his mind right now:
“When then-City Councilman John Liu won his landmark victory for city comptroller in 2009, his campaign celebration was electric, with the collective energy of hundreds of public workers who saw him as their new champion … But in the time since that halcyon night, some in labor might be in the market for a new champion. Liu is increasingly on the defensive since the arrest of his campaign treasurer, Jenny Hou, on campaign finance fraud charges more than a week ago …
Another reporter appears to have realized that anger over Cuomo’s gun law isn’t going to go away. Buffalo News Urban Affairs Editor Rod Watson writes:
“… In a nation founded with guns to oppose government tyranny, it shouldn’t surprise anyone that shooters won’t let Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s gun-control power play fade from the spotlight. Tuesday’s rally in Albany and another slated for Feb. 28 prove that the issue has legs. So does his drop in a poll after the law was rammed through using emergency provisions to prevent debate. Put aside for a moment the irony of the governor now saying a law passed in secret will become more popular once people know more about it. With other bills, that might be true. But in this case, the more the public learns what a semiautomatic gun is – and what it isn’t – I’m betting the less likely they are to think Cuomo made a reasoned decision, rather than a political one …”
That’s what I told the Times more than two weeks ago:
“… “The more people see about this, the angrier they are getting,” said Jacob J. Rieper, the vice president of legislative and political affairs for the Rifle and Pistol Association. He recounted sympathetic phone calls from as far away as Nebraska, where a man pledged to collect donations at his gun club to support a legal challenge to the law, and angry messages from New York gun owners who were eager to campaign against the legislators who voted for the measure. “The bottom line is none of these people thought this through, and it’s starting to stink,” Mr. Rieper said …”
Yes it is.