About 70 members of rod and gun clubs in Genesee County were at the Northwoods Sportsman Club in Le Roy this afternoon to fire one shot each at noon to protest the SAFE Act and express support for Rep. Chris Collins' bill to block the SAFE Act at the Federal level.
Both Collins and State Senator Micheal Ranzenhofer were on hand to participate in the "Shot Heard Around New York" event at precisely noon today.
Collins said his bill, the Second Amendment Guarantee Act, has a good chance at passage if it gets out of the Judiciary Committee for a vote on the House floor because the NRA has said it will score the vote if it comes to a floor vote.
Even though New York's SAFE Act is the impetus for the bill, many members of Congress, both Republicans and Democrats, recognize this isn't just a New York issue because their states could also pass bills that violate the Second Amendment.
"I absolutely support the 10th Amendment, states' rights," Collins said. "Some folks have said this is a Federal preemption of sorts, and I’ve tried to remind them what we’re doing here is preventing a state from restricting Second Amendment rights; just like a state cannot restrict First Amendment rights, a state cannot restrict religious freedom, and they should not be able to do as New York has done -- restrict Second Amendment rights."
The bill has not been popular in Albany, Collins said.
"Andrew Cuomo knows this is a real fight because we know how he does things," Collins said. "He threw a tantrum in his office. The report we got back was there were objects being thrown through the area. That’s typical of what we’ve heard of the governor.
"He knows once we get this passed he can sue us all day long, but we’re going to make sure it’s written in a way that we’re simply saying that a state cannot preempt federal law when it comes to restrictions or requirements on long guns."
Ranzenhofer thanks Collins for his efforts.
"Every year issues come before us and we stop a lot of bad legislation from coming through, but we need your help on this particular piece of legislation," Ranzenhofer said. "You know with our governor, he is not going to sign a repeal bill.
"That’s why I’m so thankful that Congressman Collins is leading this fight in Congress because when you can’t do it directly this is the option that we have, doing it at the Federal level and saying 'New York State, this is not going to happen.' "
Wow. Scary. Anyone who has
Wow. Scary. Anyone who has ever seen Collins in person and looked him in the eyes would wonder if he was stable enough to ever posses a fire arm. How about making a noise heard around the world that had something to do with bringing good jobs to our area, or ending the opiate crisis that is killing our communities?
I am a SCOPE Member and an
I am a SCOPE Member and an advocate for the 2nd Amendment. I appose the SAFE Act vehemently but I cannot support Chris Collins on this endeavor. Levels of government were created to keep the states sovereign. When Federal Government steps in to "override" the states, and we agree to it, we are violating one of the basic foundations of government. The SAFE Act should be battled and possibly defeated locally at the state level. Chris Collins and Senator Ranzenhofer have missed the boat on this fundamental concept.
My first reaction was Collins
My first reaction was Collins does not have a good grip or stance. Poser.
The 10th Amendment:
The 10th Amendment:
"The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people."
The Constitution through the Second Amendment delegated gun rights to the Federal government.
I’m an NRA Life Member. I’m a
I’m an NRA Life Member. I’m a member of Scope. I support Chris Collins effort to defeat the Safe Act on a Federal level.
I wholeheartedly support defeating the Safe Act by any legal means possible.
The boundaries of the Second Amendment don't begin or end at the town; the city or the state borders. New York State has no authority, legal or moral to override the Constitution or suspend or modify of our Constitutional- God-given rights. Given our Trilateral form of New York State government, thinking we can battle and defeat the Safe Act, only on a local or State level is wishful thinking.
You're close Howard, but the
You're close Howard, but the 2nd Amendment guarantees the right of the people to keep and bear arms. The responsibility of the Federal Government is to protect the right of the individual. That responsibility toward the people of NY State has been shirked since the Sullivan Act in 1911. But hey, close is not bad. (Insert smiley face here)
The SAGA is BS, it's not even
The SAGA is BS, it's not even needed in most other states, maybe this is why it has so few co-sponsors, and SAGA will make very little improvement to the NYSAFE infringements NYers are stuck with. IMO, this is mainly about Representative Collins getting PR as a champion for the 2nd A. Why didn't he include in his Bill ALL the 2nd Amendment infringements that NYSAFE contains? The SAGA only addresses long guns... WTH. Again I say it's BS.
How many have read the Bill ??? https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/house-bill/3576/text