Chemung Legislature weighs in on new state gun laws, takes steps to repeal
ELMIRA, N.Y. (WENY)--After a slew of new state gun laws were recently passed in Albany. Some counties have come out to publicly oppose these new laws calling them unconstitutional. Tuesday evening, Chemung County voted on a resolution to call on leaders in Albany to repeal them.
Several counties have already sent a letter to Albany to repeal the new gun reform law that recently came down the pipeline. These new laws put new restrictions on concealed carry permit holders, specifically where a gun cannot be carried.
Tuesday evening Chemung was added to the list of counties opposed to the new laws after the legislature voted unanimously in favor of the resolution.
"The legislature passed a resolution as a whole basically announcing our displeasure with what has happened with some of these new gun laws," Legislator Scott Drake, District 13 City of Elmira and Town of Southport said.
The new gun laws went into effect in September. The Legislature is going on record voicing their dissatisfaction. Drake says Albany rushed through the ten new laws that are meant to punish law-abiding citizens and legitimate firearm businesses.
"They haven't taken the legal gun owners into consideration. They haven't taken law enforcement into consideration. They basically passed a lot of stuff that they can say did something but it has really done nothing other than cause confusion," Drake said.
Some law enforcement officials also say leaders in Albany rushed the gun laws through without ever getting input from the law enforcement community. Drake says although these new laws went into effect last month, the state hasn't given any guidance on things like special licensing.
"No one has given any guidance from the state on what that means. They put restrictions on some of these things. Basically, the second amendment is a constitutional right so it's not up to the individual to prove they are of good moral character it's up to the licensing agency to prove they are not," Drake said.
State Senator Tom O'Mara was a special guest at tonight's county legislature meeting. He says he applauds the Legislature for taking this step.
"I've been encouraging the counties across the district that I represent and my colleagues to do the same to voice their opposition to these gun laws that violate law-abiding citizens and their second amendment right under the constitution," O'Mara said.
Senator O'Mara says the state needs to focus on the illegal users of guns, the criminal, not the law-abiding citizen.
"All these gun laws that the governor has passed, it is penalizing law-abiding gun owners and has no effect in New York whatsoever. We live right here in the Southern Tier, just miles from the Pennsylvania border. While you may not be able to buy a particular firearm here without a license you can buy one in a gun shop in Pennsylvania and bring it back to New York legally, lawfully and possess it here in New York" O'Mara said.
Schuyler County Legislature also voted tonight unanimously in favor to take up a call to repeal the new state gun laws. As far as the next steps, Drake says a legislator Sweet will take this declaration to Intercounty which is 19 counties in upstate New York. They will then take it to the county's lobbying group to press lawmakers to make a change.