All about guns, legislation and politics in New York
Our new Governor Kathy Hochul choose Senator Brian Benjamin to be her Lieutenant Governor.
Benjamin has not been supportive of 2A rights. He made a reference to “gun violence” during her announcement so I expect the duo will continue the attacks on our rights.
From City & State’s, “The Community Engagement Power 50“:
“… Since 2018, Kathleen Digan and her team at the government relations firm Ostroff Associates have played a key role assisting the anti-gun violence organization Everytown for Gun Safety, along with its advocacy arm, Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, and the groups’ local chapters. Digan supported the organizations’ advocacy for policies preventing gun violence in New York, which has helped build support for state legislation banning bump stocks and allowed courts to remove guns from people flagged as an “extreme risk.” …”
There’s no genuine public support for any of this.
Everytown is essentially funded by one person, Mike Bloomberg, and he’s been paying Ostroff $10,000 a month plus expenses to push his agenda in Albany. This is what his money has bought him (so far …).
Cuomo is out and Hochul is in.
WBFO reports on her changing position on gun control:
“… In the past, Hochul has been a supporter of gun rights, even earning a favorable rating from the National Rifle Association while representing Western New York in Congress in 2012. But after a break following a losing bid for re-election, Hochul returned to the political scene to run for lieutenant governor with a far more liberal agenda …”
“… The Hochul campaign credited her tenure as Erie County clerk for building a pro-gun record. It pointed out she streamlined the government’s permit application process and provided gun shows with staff and technology to ensure quick and safe sales. The campaign also said that in Congress, she “fought to strengthen the rights of gun owners traveling from state to state and to open public lands to hunting and fishing.” “As a county clerk, I was a staunch advocate for sportsmen, and I have carried through on my commitment to protect their rights in Congress,” Hochul said Wednesday …”
“… During her 2014 campaign for lieutenant governor, Hochul called the failure of Congress to pass background check legislation a “disgrace” following the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary in Connecticut that left 20 children dead. She also doubled down on support for the Cuomo Administration’s signature gun control law, the SAFE Act, passed in the wake of that shooting that killed 26 people. Speaking at a pro-gun control rally near New Paltz in 2018, Hochul celebrated the law’s passage and came out in strong support of other gun control measures, including so-called Red Flag Laws. “We’re talking about banning assault weapons, we did it here in New York,” Hochul said. “Background checks; what’s wrong with making sure people who shouldn’t have guns don’t have them?” …”
So, absent any strong ideological foundation, we can expect Hochul to do whatever she believes is the most politically advantageous at the time.
Republicans are gloating at Gov. Cuomo’s upcoming resignation on Tuesday:
Let’s be clear on this: Cuomo leaving office is a blessing. However, it is definitely not a win, especially for the Republicans who appear too stupid to recognize they didn’t beat Cuomo at anything.
Democrats got tired enough with his shit that he decided to resign on his terms rather than try and fight back even though he might have won. There was no rejection of his policies, just his personal behavior, and it in no ways suggests a political shift towards Republicans. If anything, leaving early allows Democrats to claim that they recognized there was a problem and dealt with it more than a year before the ’22 elections at which point people’s memories will have faded.
As for his record on the issues, the media is already beginning to gloss-over his early departure by writing, “… [Gov. Cuomo] notched some historic victories for New York, paving a path of social progress that will resound for years to come …” . This includes his signature SAFE Act, which despite the fact that it is blowing up in everyone’s face, not a single elected official will criticize in public.
The state legislature will return in January and the gun control agenda will move forward without Cuomo.
Some rumor-mongering at the Times Union:
“… A recent Times Union story about who might run for governor in 2022 included many possible entrants for the Democratic nomination. One name not included: Westchester County Executive George Latimer. Former state Sen. Terry Gipson, a Democrat who served in the Senate with Latimer, wrote in to say that Latimer should definitely be considered … Gipson, who has been encouraging Latimer to run for governor, noted Westchester County under Latimer passed several progressive measures before state government eventually acted on them …”
Latimer has a proven antigun record in the state legislature and in Westchester County.
That being said, the best opportunity for 2A activism may be during a Democrat primary and in that case it would be to push aside an even worse candidate as opposed to supporting a pro-gun one. That is the reality of gun politics in New York. Sitting by and doing nothing is not an option.
Wednesday’s Newsbits:
Gun Industry:
Guns:
Jurisprudence:
NRA:
Politics:
At the same time Everytown’s mouthpiece posts this:
.@Everytown is proud to name @SenatorMyrie and Mayor @nanwhaley as our State and City Gun Sense Lawmakers of the Year, respectively.
Because you can’t have common-sense gun safety laws without uncommonly committed — and courageous —lawmakers. #GSU2021 pic.twitter.com/O7PTAK8cKu
— John Feinblatt (@JohnFeinblatt) August 15, 2021
The Daily News reports this:
“Four friends, including a teenager, were struck in a hail of bullets unleashed by three gunmen who opened fire on a Brooklyn street, police said Sunday. The bloody attack on the group hanging out on the corner of Marcy and Lexington Aves. in Bedford-Stuyvesant erupted about 12:10 a.m. Saturday, police said …”
This is gunsense in action.
The New York Times reports:
“The gun-control group Everytown for Gun Safety plans to spend $3 million to recruit and train its volunteers to run for office, with a goal of having 200 enter races in the next election cycle … Everytown’s new program, called Demand a Seat, will begin this fall and will involve training in the nuts and bolts of running a campaign, as well as instruction from advocates-turned-legislators … It is aimed at members of Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action, two arms of Everytown, which is backed by Michael R. Bloomberg …”
Gun control is and always will be a stinker of an issue. There is no way candidates can win building a campaign around. This has to be a proxy for the hard Left.
“… [State Representative Jo Ella Hoye] and [Congresswoman Lucy McBath] will advise the program’s participants, as will, among others, Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms of Atlanta, a Democrat; former Mayor Mitch Landrieu of New Orleans, a Democrat; and former Representative David Jolly of Florida, who was a Republican while in office but has since left the party …”
This evidence supports my suspicion.
Nevertheless, groups like SAF or FPC and maybe NRA-ILA, should consider putting together similar programs.