by TGM Staff
A piece of federal legislation introduced in late July has raised the blood pressure of perennial anti-gunners because it could essentially threaten state-level gun bans and other onerous gun control measures.
The proposed Second Amendment Guarantee Act (H.R. 3576) quickly got attention in Connecticut and New York, and in particular, from New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Almost immediately, the news media began reporting such things as what appeared in the Greenwich Patch:
“Strict gun-control laws enacted by Connecticut state politicians in 2013, after more than two dozen school kids and staff members at Sandy Hook Elementary were shot dead by a crazed gunman, may soon be lifted by the federal government…That is, if one gun-loving Republican congressman from upstate New York has his way.”
The bill is sponsored by Rep. Chris Collins (R-NY). The Rochester, NY Democrat and Chronicle reported that, “Collins announced…that he has proposed new federal legislation that would make illegal key parts of New York’s SAFE Act. Collins’ bill is called SAGA — the Second Amendment Guarantee Act — and if it is enacted, much of Cuomo’s controversial SAFE Act would become void. It would do the same in other states that have tough anti-gun laws, as federal laws would take precedence over state law.”
SAGA as currently written applies only to rifles and shotguns. It mentions pistol grip stocks.
Gov. Cuomo came out talking tough, and alarmist, with his reaction. According to the Democrat and Chronicle, Cuomo issued a statement that said the SAGA Act would put “millions of people at profound risk,” and called it a “political ploy.”
According to the Patch, if the legislation does pass, critics contend it will have an impact on state laws that ban so-called “assault weapons.” Here is what the bill says, in part:
“A State or a political subdivision of a State may not impose any regulation, prohibition, or registration or licensing requirement with respect to the design, manufacture, importation, sale, transfer, possession, or marking of a rifle or shotgun that has moved in, or any such conduct that affects, interstate or foreign commerce, that is more restrictive, or impose any penalty, tax, fee, or charge with respect to such a rifle or shotgun or such conduct, in an amount greater, than is provided under Federal law.”
The New York Daily News reported that Cuomo, during a stop in upstate Hudson, NY, blasted Collins (from Erie County) for introducing The Second Amendment Guarantee Act, which would limit the authority of states to regulate rifles and shotguns
A spokeswoman for Collins defended the proposed legislation, saying it would remove restrictions “unfairly placed on New Yorkers” by the governor, according to the Daily News.
“Governor Cuomo took away the Constitutional rights of Americans when he signed the so-called SAFE Act into law,” said Collins spokeswoman Sarah Minkel.
“If Governor Cuomo wants to criticize Congressman Collins for sticking up for his constituents by protecting their Second Amendment rights, or for working to reduce their property taxes, he can answer to them in 2018,” Minkel added.
Collins, who has a New York State carry license, also made headlines when he promised to a handgun for his protection and that of his constituents after the Alexandria, VA, congressional baseball practice shooting in June, which seriously wounded Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA) and others.
