Governor Andrew Cuomo Seizes Your Gun Rights in Overnight Secret Deal

Procedural Shortcuts and Midnight Votes in Albany. Public Input Prevented on Gun Control Debate to Advance Agenda and Political Career.

Governor Andrew Cuomo Seizes Your Gun Rights Overnight with Secret Deals
Governor Andrew Cuomo Seizes Your Gun Rights Overnight with Secret Deals
NRA-ILA
NRA – ILA

Charlotte, NC –-(Ammoland.com)-  Governor Andrew Cuomo, in stunningly brazen fashion, took a hatchet to gun rights in New York with lightning speed.

By cutting secret deals behind closed doors, eliminating public input and circumventing normal legislative processes, the Governor and state Senate passed sweeping anti-gun measures just before the stroke of midnight yesterday.  Within 24 hours, Cuomo had his new gun control laws.

Cuomo utilized a rarely-used executive trick, a “message of necessity” to bypass normal legislative procedures that are strictly followed on hundreds of bills each legislative session.  Late last night as the clock approached midnight, the public was introduced to S. 2230,a hastily drafted bill that includes bans on commonly owned semi-automatic firearms and magazines, registration, and restrictions on ammunition purchases.  This bill was released to legislators a scant twenty minutes prior to the Senate vote and quickly passed without proper vetting, committee consideration and debate, as previously reported on here.

Today, S. 2230 faced the state Assembly where it passed by a 104 to 43 vote and was signed into law by the Governor within an hour of its passage, taking immediate effect.  During Assembly debate, it became obvious that the haste with which the bill was drafted and passed resulted in innumerable errors and flaws, damaging gun owners even worse than bill authors probably intended.  The NRA-ILA lobbyist spent several days in Albany meeting with lawmakers, but this deal was quickly and quietly being forged behind closed doors.  Lawmakers from both political parties were even critical of the process in which Cuomo guaranteed only one outcome would prevail.

Prior to this outrageous and undemocratic action, New York already had some of the strictest gun control laws in the country, and they have proven to be failures.  When each of New York’s gun laws was enacted, politicians promised it would fix the crime problem.  Years later, it is clear that they did not, yet anti-gun lawmakers want more of the same laws.  Gun control has not worked because criminals, by definition, do not obey the law.  Like previous gun control attempts, S.2230 focuses only on law-abiding gun owners and will do nothing to address public safety or crime.

S.2230 expands the state’s existing pseudo (semi-auto) “assault weapons” ban by outlawing pre-ban firearms, unless they are registered.  This new state law also expands what is now considered an “assault weapon” and goes beyond the expired federal law.  This statute also lowers New York’s magazine capacity limit from ten rounds to seven. You can possess magazines capable of holding more than ten for one year, but you cannot sell or transfer them to anyone living in New York.  State residents have one year from enactment to transfer or surrender them.  Incredibly, S.2230 will also require background checks on ammunition purchases and prohibit online sales of both firearms and ammunition.  It also includes universal background checks on all firearms transfers with certain exemptions for immediate family.  S.2230 also requires mental health practitioners to report if someone is a threat to himself or others (without requiring an adjudication) and such person must surrender their gun.   These failed gun control ideas will not address crime, but today Cuomo and his accomplices did irreparable damage to the constitutional rights of New Yorkers.

In his recent state of the state address, Cuomo made it clear that passing gun control would be the first major issue of the 2013 legislative session.  He seized the opportunity to exploit tragedy and put his own personal politics ahead of sound public policy.  Your governing officials resorted to deception, secrecy and procedural gamesmanship because they were too afraid to let gun owners make their voices heard.  In the short time this issue was before the state Legislature, hundreds of phone calls and e-mails flooded the Capitol.  The politicians might be able to sidestep gun owners now, but the next election will be a different story.
This legislation is still less than 24 hours old, and it contains many complex details and nuances that were secretly withheld from public view.  NRA-ILA’s legal staff will continue to examine this new law and determine if future litigation may be appropriate.  As we challenge these new laws, we will continue to report to our members, so please stay tuned.
About:
Established in 1975, the Institute for Legislative Action (ILA) is the “lobbying” arm of the National Rifle Association of America. ILA is responsible for preserving the right of all law-abiding individuals in the legislative, political, and legal arenas, to purchase, possess and use firearms for legitimate purposes as guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Visit: www.nra.org

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C.B.Tools

As of this writing,over 50 NY counties have opposed the “safe” act. This should come as no surprise since most of NY State is rural. What the city politicians (Cuomo) have failed to realize is that the entire southern tier of NY State as far east and north as Schoharie and Otsego Counties is included in the cultural region known as Appalachia. Google Appalachia or Appalachian Counties. The Appalachian Mountains stretch from Maine to Alabama but the Appalachian cultural region is more specific. In violating the second amendment rights of NY citizens, Cuomo has not only declared war against rural… Read more »

tim

thanks now i can sell mine to illeagles and get more for them thanks for the increase of VALUE somthing you no nothing about

tim

somebody should unload their $##@ in cumo's ase

randy cote

I DON'T HAVE A PROBLEM WITH BACKROOD CHECKS BUT NOT SLIENILY IN THE NIGHT BUT RIGHT IN THE OPEN i ALSO BELIEVE IN THE WAITING FOR THE WATHIN PERIOD I do not belive in the mandatory on long guns it you have a pistol permit the guns will ge going like hot cakes in this area

Rick

When will it be time for the NRA to flex it muscle?

US Constitution

To ALL New Yorkers. "Nullification" is your priority and responsibility. Then "Impeachment".

Bill Baker

Idiots like this don't get that online gun stores still require background checks in order to pick up the weapon, no, you can't just order one online and have it show up at your house without a background check.

And forgetting the background check for ammunition problem, everything has been moving towards the internet being the place to buy your stuff for years, stopping online ammunition sales won't help anything and just hurts sales and the economy. Leave it to democrats I guess, because they know better than us. (sucks on thumb)