Politics & Government

Pols in Albany Vow to Fight Cuomo's New Gun Law

Gun rights activists cheered legislators at a gun rally in Albany for vowing to fight New York's gun legislation in court

Gun rights activists who gathered at the gun rally on Thursday in Albany cheered members of the Republican conference for denouncing Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s newly enacted gun law, calling it unfair to law-abiding, gun-owning citizens, reported the Times-Union.

Rally organizers directed their anger at Cuomo, despite the fact that Senate Republican Leader Dean Skelos voted for the bill and allowed it to go to the floor, a key action that helped the bill become law.

The measure -- the New York Secure Ammunition and Firearms Enforcement Act, which passed on January 15 -- made magazines containing more than seven bullets unlawful, increased penalties for illegal gun possession, reduced public access to gun permit information and allowed the reporting by doctors of gun-owners who were mental health patients.

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Public opinion polls have found at least two-thirds of voters who were surveyed support the new law, one of the strictest in the nation.

Still, several GOP legislators joined the massive crowd in decrying the law as a blatant infringement on American citizens’ Second Amendment rights. One assemblyman publicly called the governor’s actions “tyrannical.”

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"This is probably one of the most egregious acts by government I've seen defying our nation's history," said Assembly Minority Leader Brian Kolb, R-Canandaigua. "It's time to repeal this law."

Sen. Kathy Marchione, R-Halfmoon, introduced a bill on Thursday to repeal much of it, and the New York State Rifle and Pistol Association is working on a legal challenge it hopes to file next week.

However, so far, not enough support has been roused amongst key Republican legislators to broker an amendment.

And Cuomo announced on Wednesday, that apart from an exception for Hollywood production companies, there would be no major changes to the law.


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