Press release:
Assemblyman Steve Hawley (R,C,I-Batavia) today commented on the actions of Assembly Majority Codes Committee members, who killed two bills that would have repealed the unconstitutional SAFE Act. Despite an impressive showing from pro-Second Amendment sportsmen, members of the Assembly Majority killed two bills sponsored by Hawley, A.2651 and A.3350, that would have repealed the NY SAFE Act, which was passed controversially in 2013.
Hawley said the SAFE Act continues to violate New Yorkers’ Second Amendment rights and was irresponsibly jammed though the Legislature in the middle of the night as a political stunt by Gov. Cuomo.
“I have, and always will be, a supporter of the Second Amendment,” Hawley said. “Any legislation that takes away a law-abiding citizen’s ability to possess firearms is an unconstitutional act of government tyranny. I am from a rural district in Western New York and my experience with gun owners has been exemplary. Most gun owners are responsible hunters or firearm enthusiasts, and to prohibit them from adequately protecting themselves or their families is indefensible and governmentally oppressive.
"New Yorkers, in no way wanted this bill to become law, that is why it was rushed through the process in the middle of the night using a message of necessity. A truly fair and transparent government would allow this bill to come to the floor for a vote, but apparently that is not how New York functions.”
It is not only disappointing,
It is not only disappointing, but contemptible that any state in these United States can be controlled and run by a group of such unconstitutional, progressive, socialists as we are bridled with here in NYS. After realizing the damage done by the passing of the SAFE Act, 52 of the 62 counties that make up New York, officially declared their opposition to the new law and called for it's repeal.
NYSAFE, literally at the snap of Cuomo's fingers, turned law-abiding gun owner/residents of NYS into felons simply for owning some guns that they have owned for a long time, and furthermore would be welcome and perfectly legal in most other states. This idiocy along with a legitimate concern for infringement of the Constitution of all the states [the Constitution and Bill of Rights of the United States of America] has prompted Attorneys General of 22 other US states to file a “friend of the court” (amicus curiae) challenging NYSAFE as unconstitutional.
It is reported that there is over 6 million gun owners in NYS. The total number of votes cast for the office of Governor of NY in 2014 was under 3.8 million. The sad commentary here is the apathy of the gun owners who "obviously" did not bother to even vote. Some will point to the fact that 90-99% of NYS gun owners are voting by their outright refusal to register certain guns required by the SAFE Act. The bottom line is, as long as the law is on the books it is operable, enforceable, and unconstitutional. It needs to be nullified and removed, and this will NOT be done by a movement in the NYS Assembly.
I'll give Assemblyman Hawley credit where & when due, but he really needs to be more transparent on the truth here, that with the Assembly being 70+% liberal [Democrat and some Republicans too], the Bills that he entered were really just for show and pandering, and never had a snowball's chance of passage. The fact that his Bills will not even come out of committee and get a floor vote is unfair, but moot really.
The only power that could have been wielded in the Legislature would have been by the recent, new Republican majority in the Senate, which if they had any ethics and spine would have refused to pass the budget until some of the issues near and dear to Conservatives [who foolishly believe they are best represented by the Republicans] were achieved... repeal NYSAFE, stop Common Core, block expansion of abortion, cut welfare (individual and corporate) and thus reduce taxes for all - not just a few. Unacceptably ALL the GOP Senators [including our representative Ranzenhofer] thumbed their nose at their constituents and readily passed Cuomo's budget, in exchange for just a few crumbs from the emperor's table.
In full disclosure, let's not overlook the fact that Assemblyman Hawley voted to help pass the budget with funding for NYSAFE in the first two years after the law was rammed thru. It was not until this years budget that he fully voted against it.