Hawley calls for SAFE Act repeal on heels of embarrassing new report

"81 percent of violations occurred in New York City, over five times more than in the rest of the state"?!?!?

This article leads with "press release," meaning Howard and Billie posted it exactly as issued by Mr. Harley's office.

Let's say there were 100 violations in the state. 81% of them being in NYC means 81 violations there, and 19 violations elsewhere. 19x5 = 95. In what universe is 81 > 95?

Let's hope the poll watchers and vote counters during the next election know math a bit better than Mr. Hawley.

I guess it is possible that the RATE of violations is 5 times higher. If that is the situation then Mr. Hawley fails both math and writing - math due to his failure to understand relatively simple figures, and writing due to the failure of anybody in his organization to catch the misrepresentation.

Another example of the fine work issued by NY's finest Koch-whore.

Tim, your outraged on the grammar & math of this press release, I'm outraged that a middle of the night unconstitutional piece of legislation was voted on by my state government.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=13FV1GaA20I

It is interesting that with all of the problems going on in the area (low wages, heroin epidemic, domestic violence, corporate welfare, high student drop out rates, vacant properties, high property taxes, etc...) that Hawley thinks this is the most important thing to talk about as he is collecting a salary from tax payer funds. Isn't it a bit ironic that a Law Enforcement Officer is shot out in Byron on this very same day? I think it is time Mr. Hawley start focusing on the real needs of the District and start doing the job that voters put him in office to do. It is getting old to read the same old tired press releases over an issue that has already been decided and he knows is not going to change. It is said that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over but expecting different results. His actions sound a tad insane to me.

All this AND the ridiculous 'Two New Yorks' "legislation".
Jeezus Steve, give it up already. Do you realize this makes you look like a small town buffoon? IT'S NOT GOING TO HAPPEN!!!

How do we benefit from having 2 New Yorks?? How will the Upstate counties make up for the loss of tax income that's derived from NYC?

Ridiculous.

Scott, you may find it interesting that of all the issues you stated above, I feel the SAFE-ACT is the most important one. My constitutional rights have been infringed on and this legislation must be repealed. Now that a police officer was shot at, my fear is what kind of legislation will be passed in the middle of the night and what rights will the government take from me before I get out of bed tomorrow. The SCOTUS has ruled It is NOT a police officer's duty to protect and serve and now the government through legislation is making it difficult for me to protect myself. Yes the SAFE-ACT is a very important issue to me.

I also agree with Mr Hawley.

Absolutely he is right!!! Scott all the issues you mention are solved by what??? Yeah more taxes and government programs!!! No thank you. NY needs to do a few simple things. Stop raising taxes for special interest spending, Shrink government aka less laws and oversight result??? Less spending. Lower Taxes businesses will come more jobs!!! Please dont try and make one of my representatives feel as though he shouldn't address a situation that is at the basis of whats wrong with this State and Nation. Record High Drug Use??? How has the war on drugs done?? How many trillions spent?? Addicts need to clean themselves up or be left to the result. High School drop outs?? Start parenting. Jobs? Cut spending= Less Taxes, business takes care of itself. As for the officer who was shot at yesterday you do realize that the safe act or any other gun control law cannot possibly stop gun abuse and still protect my rights to carry and own firearms correct??? Tax generated from downstate??? Is someone serious with that?? You do realize that they spend every penny they take in and subsidize the rest using the rest of the State right?? If NYC was forced to support itself it would be bankrupt in a couple of years at most. So stop looking for our representatives to raise our kids, make us smart enough to not become addicts, create us a living or anything else!! Do that stuff on your own damn it. I for one need my representatives like Mr. Hawley doing EXACTLY what hes doing. Protecting me, a solid, employed, non addict, good parent and member of society from an over bearing government. I can take care of the other stuff and so should everyone else. Government wasn't meant to rule us it was meant to represent us!! Its no hard math and I am sure Mr. Hawley can do the simple figures mentioned here. Thank you Mr. Hawley!!

http://observer.com/2014/10/northern-exposure-the-give-and-take-between…

The SAFE act was the Last straw-- I packed My EBR's and Left the state Moved to The WV panhandle Martinsburg area,, Bought 6 Acres and a Fixed upper log Home for $45 Thou,,We Just passed Constitutional carry No Pistol permits needed ! You can own and shoot any Rifle and shotgun and No permits needed to own handguns -- Seriously !!! Sorry NY I loved the state -But the anti freedom Liberals have ruined the state !! I remember when we had the Rally in Albany and near 14 thousand of us showed up and Little Andy hopped on the Ny chopper and flew to NYC to spend the day with his buddies !!!
When people ask How im doing I just smile and say--Another day in Paradise!!!! PS--House for sale in NY state --you buy Now cheep -!!

Terry, I must say I disagree with much of your post. You mention the trillions wasted on the war on drugs. You do realize that President Nixon planted the seeds for this battle and that the recently deceased Nancy Reagan made the entire Just Say No phrase a party of the American lexicon, right? Both were Republicans. As for lower taxes and letting business take care of themselves, well how did the yogurt plant work out? Corporate Welfare is what is destroying our Nation. When proud Conservatives such as you sing the praises of lower taxes, unregulated business and the same old tired mantra, you should take a look at the great State of Louisiana. The one time darling of your movement and former Presidential Candidate, Bobby Jindal did exactly what you are suggesting. Take a look at the results. The slashed taxes for business resulted in an increase in corporate profits and a debt load that has the state on the verge of going under. This is not just a statement that is being made up. Please take a look at the current state of Louisiana. It is a disaster. I do not like paying taxes anymore than the next guy, but I realize it is a necessity for a civilized society. We get snow in the area and the hard working men and women who maintain the roads so we can get to work need to be paid. This money must come from somewhere. Our children need to be properly educated and the salaries for bus drivers and teachers must come from some revenue source. Our hard working police and fire fighters need to be paid. Our men and women in the armed services deserve to be paid. Our less fortunate in society need some sort of a safety net. Taxes are a reality of life. If we paid no taxes, where would we be? Louisiana is a mess because of the slash and burning of government. Please investigate this. Without taxes, we would all be forced to find a $45 fixer upper log home like your supporter Randy and live off of the land. I know Western New Yorkers are hardy people but let's get real. And we certainly can not be serious about the splitting of New York. Without the revenue being brought in from Wall Street and the big bucks in New York City we would be a third world country here. The sheep and cattle do not pay taxes here. While Hawley is doing nothing but grandstanding and giving lip service to voters we need to get real. If there were to be ever be a split in the state, our area would be similar to something that Randy would want to call home. I think we all deserve better than that.

Scott. Just wondering - who is Terry?

Assemblyman Hawley is right on target once again. The majority of SAFE act charges have been in the draconian NYC area, and the bulk of those cases were also prosecuted under laws that existed before the so called SAFE act. Instead of passing junk legislation that only penalizes law abiding citizens, all we needed was better enforcement of existing laws. The SAFE act did nothing to prevent a mentally ill man from firing a single shot .22 rifle at a police officer, thanks for bringing up that tangential issue.

Scott. You speak of taxes. OK. How about what your "representatives" are being paid?

Could you please explain the "ever so slight" difference in the salaries of (the people's representatives) of these two states?
NY and NH.

According to http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/house/abouthouse/housefacts.htm , the biennium (2-year period) salary for NH is $200. That's $100/year to represent their constituents.
FROM that webpage, "Although the salary of $200 per biennium puts some practical limits on service in the House, New Hampshire has been fortunate over the years to have a representative cross-section of the state’s men and women: businesspeople, homemakers, educators, engineers, doctors, lawyers, students and retirees."

NY, according to the article at http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2014/12/new_york_state_legislato… ,
"All New York state legislators are paid the same base salary of $79,500 for the part-time job. But most make more than that. They can add to the base: "Lulus," or extra pay for committee assignments. $172 per diem payments to cover food and Albany lodging during session, plus reimbursements for transportation. Double dipping: Pension payments for those who have reached age 65, filed for retirement and returned to work. And the top lawmakers are really getting as much as $205,000 in government money."

People don't usually get too upset paying their "fair share" for (needed) things: ie. snowplowing, garbage removal, road repairs, etc.

The relevant phrase is "fair share".

On a side note, it was just reported, from http://www.whec.com/news/report-new-york-worst-sate-retirement/4063170/
"New York State Exposed: New York is worst state for retirement, report says"

Why is that, Scott?

Randy Sliker has the right approach. With the NYS Assembly controlled by a huge majority (approx 70%) downstate progressives (regressives really) nothing is going to change for the betterment of the conservative and/or Constitutional minded folks. However Hawley must continue to try (at least earn his $79,500), and I'm pleased that he has finally put the SAFE Act as #1 priority. Because it IS the #1 issue in NYS politics now, if for no other reason, simply because it violates (infringes) a Constitutionally guaranteed right to all people... the right to "own and bear" arms for their personal protection against ANY threats on their lives, their property, and their well-being.

Secondly, Assemblyman Hawley's push for dividing NYS into two separate states is not totally unreasonable. Is it likely to happen, probably not, but never say never. BTW Hawley is not alone in the wilderness on this, there is a concerted and growing movement for a similar concept. http://www.newamsterdamny.org/

Last point for me, Mr. Hawley's closing remark says "We should never sacrifice transparency and the public’s role in government to accumulate power and wealth." I couldn't agree more, but this has been touted for literally years and to no real improvement. Partially due to the downstate majority, but also a large part of the blame falls on the Republican Senators who have done squat since getting the majority in their chamber! But to veer of topic a bit in responding to Hawley's remark of "transparency". A couple weeks ago I emailed Representative Hawley with a long running concern of mine... the government funding of and the seeming lack of service by our "local public transportation" service provider RGRTA (aka: RTS, BLine, BBS, Dial-a-Bus).
After the 2015-16 NYS Budget was approved Assemblyman Hawley sent out a flier: http://assembly.state.ny.us/member_files/139/20150518/index.pdf on that flier Hawley reports securing $40.3 Million for "local public transportation and Dial-a-Bus". Where is that money going??? There is no way in hell Hawley's district spends anywhere near $40M on public transportation. In my email to Mr Hawley I asked for an accounting (transparency) of where that $40M went. So far NO REPLY.
(BTW I also sent the same concern to the G.C. Legislature and the response I got from my Legislator DiJaniero was to contact Hawley... ? Can you say "pass the buck"??!!! You would think that since the county sends so much taxpayer money to Albany, and then our Assemblyman reports that he got a big chuck back from Albany for a specified purpose, they (our Legislature and Assemblyman) could show us where that money is (was spent)???
{I've been intending on encouraging the Batavian and/or The DN to pick up this story and investigate it further/better than I am able to.}

Brenda - you have a good point on how the law was passed. More openness would have been better, as would have been a more workable law.

Still, doesn't excuse the Koch-whore's shabby work, nor the (lack of) intelligence and competency behind the shabbiness.