by Dave Workman | Senior Editor
Following the early-morning Labor Day shooting of a “top lawyer in his administration,” anti-gun New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo quickly demanded more gun control legislation at the federal level, and according to CNN, he “insisted that all people looking to purchase a firearm should undergo background checks to prevent criminals and the mentally ill from obtaining a gun.”
But those remarks were made even before police had a suspect, and had only recovered one firearm out of possibly three that had been involved in a shooting that may have been gang-related.
The shooting victim was attorney and former Cuomo aide Carey Gabay, who was involved in a march called J’Ouvert, which precedes the annual West Indian American Day Carnival in Brooklyn. Gabay was appointed First Deputy Counsel for Empire State Development in January.
According to various published reports, Cuomo wants national gun control due to guns coming into the city from other states with what he considers lax gun laws. The New York Times reported that police said about 30 shots were fired from perhaps three different guns, including a .45-caliber MAC-10 pistol. If the shooting was gang related, it is doubtful that any of the participants had guns legally, or obtained them by first going through a background check.
The governor, who championed the Secure Ammunition and Firearms Enforcement (SAFE) Act—which is among the most restrictive in the country—moved quickly to push his gun control agenda, even before the police investigation of the shooting had concluded.
Cuomo initially told reporters that opponents of additional federal gun laws are “delusional,” the Albany Times Union reported. The New York Times reported that the number of shooting victims has risen over the same period last year in New York. This has happened despite Cuomo’s tougher gun law, which should be considered yet another signal that such laws have not lived up to their advertising.
