America’s Most-Anti-Gun Governor hails from the same state as the nation’s Most-Anti-Gun Mayor, New York City Michael Bloomberg. Exploiting tragedy, Governor Andrew Cuomo’s fiery State of the State speech today outlined a laundry list of recycled gun control proposals that have failed across the country -- and they have already failed in New York. Please contact your state Senator and Assemblyman TODAY and respectfully ask him or her to oppose legislation that does nothing more than target law-abiding gun owners. Your phone call or email will play an important role in halting these assaults on your Second Amendment rights.
The Empire State already has imposed a ban on "assault weapons" and a ten-round magazine capacity limit. New York already has some of the most stringent gun laws in the nation. According to the Brady Campaign’s national ranking of state gun control laws, New York is the fourth “best” (most restrictive) state in the nation. And when each of these bad proposals was enacted into New York law, politicians promised it would fix the crime problem. Years later, it is clear that they most certainly didn’t. Yet, even with this record of utter failure so obvious, we are supposed to believe these very same failed laws should be expanded. Gun control has not worked because criminals, by definition, do not obey the law. Refusing to learn history’s lesson that criminals don’t follow the rules and misuse legally registered firearms, Cuomo -- incredibly -- is back demanding that you should believe the solution is in these same failed laws being “strengthened.” This is the same Governor who had to repeal CoBis last session because that ballistic imaging database -- sold to the taxpayers of New York as a solution to violent crime -- was a miserably sad and expensive failure of a gun control crusade that cost the overburdened state $4 million annually without producing any results.
Minutes after New York Senators swore the oath of office in the Statehouse, vowing to uphold both the U.S. and New York constitutions, lawmakers went into another room and heard the Governor outline his agenda for trampling all over those documents and the rights of all New Yorkers. Cuomo advised the Senate and Assembly to resist the pleas of “extremists,” presumably labeling law-abiding gun owners with that moniker.
Cuomo demonstrated his lack of understanding of the U.S. Constitution when he declared, “It doesn’t take 10 bullets to kill a deer.” Cuomo, who enjoys his own personal taxpayer-funded armed security detail, was silent on how useful 10 bullets would be if several armed intruders broke into your home.
Cuomo’s agenda identified several legislative proposals. His administration is focused on requiring background checks on private firearm transfers, NICS checks for ammunition purchases, expanding firearm registration, renewal and review of firearm permits, bans on semi-automatic “assault weapons,” bans on “high capacity” magazines and a ban on online ammunition and firearm purchases. Of course, none of this applies to lawbreakers, and law-abiding gun owners would now be punished with another round of gun control and overburdened with taxes and fines that will have zero impact on public safety or violent crime.
Cuomo said he wants New York to be a leader on gun control. The state already has some of the most stringent gun laws in the country. Rather than follow New York’s example, the rest of the country has gone in the opposite direction in the last decade, as Second Amendment rights have received expanded recognition elsewhere. And violent crime rates have dropped to record low levels. Yet, Cuomo insists we need yet another layer of restrictions in New York, and he naively believes other states will follow these failed measures to their proven end!
NRA-ILA’s legislative liaison has been told that these proposals, being negotiated behind closed doors, will move quickly in Albany. Anti-gun forces realize they must move with haste to circumvent a full debate on these failed ideas. Your immediate action is needed. Please contact your state Senator and Assemblyman TODAY and respectfully ask him or her to oppose legislation that does nothing more than target law-abiding gun owners. Anti-gun lawmakers are teaming with the Governor to make sure these bills are quickly adopted before the gun-owning public has an opportunity to resist. Even though this legislation session only began today, these bills can be introduced and voted on as early as next week. Stand up for your constitutionally protected civil liberties and make your voice heard now, before it is too late.
Contact information for your state legislators can be found by clicking here.