City of Norwich Mayor Joe Mauirano is resigning from Bloomberg’s mayors coalition.
Good for him.
Ilion Fish & Game upset with Schumer
255,184
As of November 1, that is the total number of shell casings collected by COBIS. With an estimated $35 million spent since 2001, they still have not solved a single crime because of it.
Cortland rifle hunting
The Cortland Co. legislature will take up a resolution in support of allowing big game rifle hunting in the county at the Dec. 17 meeting, 6:00pm, Cortland County Office Building, Room 304, Cortland. The proposal was passed out of the Agriculture Committee to the full body without a recommendation.
If he campaigned on this he might have won
There’s an op-ed in the Daily News by Richard Aborn, “Make DNA the new fingerprint: N.Y. now fails to collect it from half of all convicted criminals.” He writes:
“… The evidence is clear that violent criminals commit both multiple crimes and nonviolent crimes. It follows then that the more offenders that are required to give DNA samples, the more crimes we can prevent. In the 21st century, DNA should be treated in the same way that fingerprints were treated in the 20th century. That is, a DNA sample should be taken for all offenses and kept in a database in cases once a person is convicted. There’s no excuse. Not only is it now less expensive and faster to test DNA, but there are an ever-increasing number of surfaces from which DNA can be lifted, including guns and bullets. Almost anything a criminal touches has some chance of yielding a DNA sample …”
This is a 180-degree turnaround from what he campaigned on. He’s now actually talking about something that involves finding and prosecuting violent thugs. Perhaps had he made this a central issue of his campaign, as opposed to screwing gun owners, he might have gotten more than 26% of the vote.
Bishop showing some weakness
Rep. Tim Bishop is showing some weakness in the latest poll according to Hotline On Call:
“… The McLaughlin & Assoc. (R) poll, taken for businessman Randy Altschuler (R), shows Bishop leading by a wide 46% to 26% margin. It’s a big gap, but the fact that a 4-term incumbent who won in ’08 with 58% is polling below 50% could be an indication of trouble ahead. Altschuler is barely known in the district, and if allowed to define himself, he has nowhere to go but up …”
The poll uses a small sample, but I think there’s going to be a big Obama backlash next year. The beating Democrats received on the Island this past election was just a down payment. It’s too early to tell if Bishop will be a victim of it, but he’s a solid anti and getting rid of him would be a plus.
Dick’s back
Richard Aborn is back at his old job on the NYC Citizen Crime Commission. The Times reports:
“After taking a year off to campaign for Manhattan district attorney, Richard M. Aborn has returned as president of the Citizen Crime Commission of New York City … On the campaign trail and off, Mr. Aborn has continued to press on gun control … During the campaign, he issued a five-point plan that included regional interdiction approach to gun trafficking, more gun buyback programs, and a requirement that pistols sold in New York include micro-stamping technology.”
Yes he did and I gave him a humiliating man-beating on election day because of it.
McDonald hearing set
SCOTUS will hear oral arguments in McDonald v. Chicago on March 2, 2010. A list of all the supporting briefs is online and Dave Hardy lists links to Dave Kopel’s commentary on a few of them.
The Brady’ s did file a brief where they argue against strict scrutiny:
“… Although the Heller Court did not articulate the proper standard of review, its opinion signaled that rigorous scrutiny would be inappropriate because it would impede the government’s ability to protect public health and safety …”
Strict scrutiny is the standard for things like freedom of speech. It would require the government demonstrate there is a compelling need for a gun control law and would require any such law to be as narrowly defined as possible. This is the exact opposite of the position New York state has taken on gun ownership since the Sullivan Law.
Basically, the Brady’s have given up on fighting incorporation and are arguing that even though there is a 2nd Amendment right, states should still have the ability to do pretty much whatever they please.
Balboni considering Senate run
The Politico reports:
“A former Republican New York State Senator and state homeland security official, Mike Balboni, is weighing a challenge to Senator Kirsten Gillibrand next year, associates said today …”
Balboni is not at all pro-gun. The only thing he’s got going for him right now is that he is not as offensive as either Rudy, G. Elmer or Liz Feld.
Christmas card from the “Gun Dean”
John Snyder’s annual holiday card is out.