By Budd Schroeder
There should be no doubt by now that Governor Andrew Cuomo has an attitude somewhere between disdain and hatred for the honest, law abiding gun owners in New York. His ramming through his infamous SAFE Act is a good example of how anxious he is to confiscate guns from everyone he can by any means he can.
The SAFE Act is a Second Amendment disaster that had to be enacted by using the “message of necessity” procedure that is supposed to be used only for laws that need to be passed immediately for a logical reason. Not so when it comes to gun legislation, according to Cuomo. By doing it this way he avoided any unwelcome commentary from law enforcement, mental health professionals, local governments, and of course, the citizens.
As it was passed, one of the biggest and dumbest of the provisions was the issue of magazine capacity. It started out that nobody could possess a magazine that would hold more than seven cartridges. That presented a big problem because most of the semi-automatic handguns used ten rounds as a minimum and those came with the purchase of the gun.
Later, it was amended to allow ten round magazines but there was a limit of seven rounds that could be loaded in it. One activist when speaking of this law provision would show two magazines that would hold nine rounds. He explained that he had seven rounds in each one and he was an honest, law abiding citizen. However, if he switched a round from one magazine and loaded it in the other one, he became a felon with a penalty equal or greater than that of some domestic abuse laws.
Eventually, a Federal Judge nullified that provision, but during that time, the dumb legislators found out that they didn’t exempt law enforce officers from that restriction and most carried guns that had a fifteen or more rounds capacity. Under the original provisions, the officers were technically guilty of a felony as they carried their duty guns. That also suddenly was stricken from the law. However, a local man was convicted of three felonies because he had three magazines that held more than ten rounds.
He is a veteran who served two tours in the Middle East, is a single father with a disabled child and never has been in trouble with the law. He was found guilty of three felonies and was placed on probation. He can never own a firearm again, can’t vote, and has a huge handicap when it comes to seeking employment. It is still a mystery how this reduces “gun violence.”
On that subject, one only has to view the nightly news to realize that “gun violence” is still a huge problem and Buffalo is a perfect example of why. The homicide by criminals using guns is a regular event showing the real reason for the failure of the SAFE Act. Criminals don’t obey laws. Think about how Cuomo has recently released felons who can now vote.
But Cuomo doesn’t end the unfairness of the laws there. The extended background checks have effectively prohibited the Amish from buying a gun. The NICS check is necessary to purchase one and they need a photo ID to buy one. The Amish don’t have a photo ID because of religious reasons, but Cuomo doesn’t care. Strangely, it is extremely rare to see any crimes of violence in the Amish community.
Another violation of common sense in the law is that a person can have all guns confiscated by a report. Many people have found out that a false report that goes through the state’s Office of Mental Health is enough to cause the confiscation. If a person has a pistol permit, once the report reaches the State Police, the County Clerk is notified and the pistol permit is suspended and all guns, even rifles and shotguns, must be surrendered or are confiscated. A report is as good as a conviction since no due process is involved. The gun owner loses four constitutional and civil rights immediately.
It takes money and time to regain the pistol permit and guns. The pistols can be returned immediately, but in order to get the confiscated long guns from the police, the owner must obtain an Article 78 and a lawyer to get them released. The process can easily be more costly than what the guns are worth. This amounts to legalized theft of a person’s property, but Cuomo approves of that.
Now, he is trying to destroy the National Rifle Association, by “urging” insurance companies and financial institutions to refuse any legal transactions by the country’s oldest civil rights organization. This is in keeping with Andrew Cuomo’s vow that “extreme conservatives have no place in New York.” These people are described by him as those who are pro-life and pro-gun among other conservative values.
According to a recent report, in April state regulators told insurers and banks they oversee to look at the relationships with gun rights groups. They were warned of “reputational risks” in their “dealings” with the NRA.
The NRA is suing the Cuomo administration accusing them of running a campaign of ‘’selective prosecution of backroom exhortations and public threats.” This is an example of the old saying of “power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” Cuomo is being accused of corruption because of his involvement with the “pay for play” convictions of people close to him and donations to his election war chest. Both issues are mentioned in this campaign by his opponents.
These issues can be very negative to upstate voters who resent a politician who shows such disdain for First and Second Amendment issues. Those who care will cast ballots and this will determine the laws made in the next four years. If you can’t change the laws, change the lawmakers.
EDITOR”S NOTE: Cuomo faces a challenge in the September Democratic Party Primary Election as well as all voters in the November General Election.
About the author: Harold W. “Budd” Schroeder is chairman emeritus of SCOPE-NY and a former multiple-term member of the board of directors of the National Rifle Association. His opinion columns appear weekly in the Lackawanna Leader.
