Gun Rights Discussed During 2nd Amendment Forum
On the heels of a national debate over gun control, an array of Republican elected officials and guest speakers spoke about firearm laws in New York at the Paladin Center Wednesday night.
In front of a packed house filled with gun owners, issued ranged from the New York Secure Ammunition and Firearms Enforcement Act of 2013 (SAFE Act), Putnam County’s legal fight against The Journal News over pistol permit information, and the importance of owning guns and keeping the 2nd amendment strong nationwide.
Putnam District Attorney Bob Tendy went over several court cases, some that supported the 2nd amendment and some that he believes damaged it. When addressing the SAFE Act, Tendy said the United States Court of Appeals upheld that the 10-round clip capacity is constitutional, but the seven round cartridge limit is not.
He noted every other aspect of the SAFE Act has been upheld in court, to the disappointment of gun advocates. Tendy added the lawsuit against the SAFE Act would not go to the Supreme Court, which he found odd
“People who claim to represent us have passed laws that say you can’t defend your family in your own home,” Tendy said of politicians across the country.
Justice James Reitz said Putnam County is the safest county in the state because residents follow gun laws, take safety courses and properly store their weapons. He said, “We are Americans, we have rights, we have to enforce that and I’m proud to tell you for ten years I support those rights.”
(County Executive MaryEllen Odell and Clerk Michael Bartolotti also spoke, mostly about The Journal News gun map. Their remarks are on page 3.)
Tom King, New York State Rifle and Pistol Association president, said the idea that the National Rifle Association has abandoned New York gun owners is “B.S.” and that it spends more money on New York efforts than every other state but California. In the fight against the SAFE Act, NRA put a substantial amount of money in the lawsuit, King, a board member of the association, noted.
King said 45 percent of American households have a gun and 34 percent of Americans own a gun, with reasons mostly for protection, and also target shooting and hunting. King used other statistics of violent crime to explain why guns were necessary, “yet Governor Cuomo wants to disarm us.”
King claimed guns are used 80 times more to protect individuals than to harm them, an assertion he said was critical to get across to the press. During his remarks, King didn’t address any of the mass shooting that have occurred in the United States over the past several years.
“We have to bring law and order back to the cities, we have to get rid of narcotics gangs, we have to get rid of any of the gangs,” King said, insisting this is the most dangerous time in the country’s history for gun owners. He ended by saying residents should vote for “anybody but (Hillary) Clinton” this November.
Captain Vincent Martin of the sheriff’s department said Sheriff Don Smith was strong on the 2nd amendment and fought against the SAFE Act.
He explained the sheriff’s office is in charge of pistol permit investigations and with the process becoming “quite lengthy,” approvals have been backed up for about a year, to the vocal chagrin of some in the crowd. Martin said the sheriff’s office hired two temporary workers to work strictly on speeding up the pistol permit approvals.
Carmel Police Department Lieutenant John Dearman said from a police standpoint, they don’t want to take residents’ guns. While law-abiding citizens should have guns, Dearman said when residents aren’t using their guns, it’s important to keep the weapons secure so they aren’t stolen or lost. He also encouraged residents to familiarize themselves with the justification for self-defense law.
Dearman said police officers could use their own judgment when enforcing parts of the SAFE Act.
“We’re not trying to jam you guys up, we have discretion” Dearman said. “Trust me the majority of police officers, I’ll just say we’re not in favor of the SAFE Act.”
Congressional Republican candidate Phil Oliva mocked current Congressman and Democrat Sean Patrick Maloney for a sit-in on the House of Representatives floor in hopes of raising awareness for better gun control laws in the country.
“We don’t need more gun control,” Oliva said. “There are thousands of gun control laws in the books.”
New York State Assembly candidate Kevin Byrne said state lawmakers don’t read over proposed bills carefully and as a result, the SAFE Act was passed into law. He said bureaucrats and politicians take mass shooting tragedies and use them as emotional arguments to get their agenda passed.
Byrne said he was looking at avenues to dismantle the SAFE Act.
“We want the to feel that if they’re a law abiding gun owner, that we’re going to respect their privacy,” Byrne said.
