New York’s Secure Ammunition and Firearms Enforcement Act – better known as the SAFE Act – has an opponent in the Newfield Town Council.

On Thursday night, the Newfield Town Council added its name to a growing list of New York municipalities that have urged the state to repeal the controversial legislation that was passed in January. The council voted unanimously in opposing the SAFE Act on the grounds that the law was rushed through the state legislature and passed with little public input. The approved town resolution states that the SAFE Act ultimately fails to address the apparent legal leniency granted to those who commit gun crimes.

Newfield requests the state replace the SAFE Act with reasonable legislation that doesn’t infringe on Second Amendment rights or push enforcement costs down to the local level.

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RESOLUTION 09-2013
OPPOSING A NUMBER OF PROVISIONS ENACTED UNDER THE
NEW YORK SAFE ACT AND THE MANNER IN WHICH IT WAS ENACTED

WHEREAS, the Bill of Rights of the Constitution of the United States, specifically the Second Amendment to the Constitution, guarantees the right of the people to keep and bear arms and states further that the right “shall not be infringed,” and;

WHEREAS, many residents of the Town of Stockholm have expressed their displeasure not only with the provisions of the NY SAFE Act itself, but also the insufficient amount of time the very lengthy bill was available for review;

WHEREAS, while there are provisions of the bill that have merit, other sections of the law should be reconsidered;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Town of Stockholm joins with the many county and town boards in opposing those portions of the NY SAFE Act which infringes upon the rights of lawful gun owners and does little to address the underlying issues that confront our society;

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Town of Stockholm strongly encourages the members of the New York State Legislature to bring forth a bill that address the real problems confronted by today’s society and not jeopardize the rights of law-abiding citizens, and;

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that copies of this Resolution will be sent to all our New York State Representatives.

This is to certify that I, Mary Jo Thompson, Town Clerk of the Town of Stockholm in the said County of St. Lawrence compared the foregoing copy of Resolution 09-2013 with the original now on file in this office, and that the same is a correct and true transcript of such original and the whole thereof.

In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the seal of said Town this 15th day of May 2013.

_______________________________________
Mary Jo Thompson, Town Clerk
Town of Stockholm

The Pierrepont town board voted unanimously to pass a resolution opposing the SAFE Act.

Town Supervisor Thomas E. Latimer said he has been approached by numerous citizens asking the town to oppose Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s gun control legislation.

“We’ve been asked to pass a resolution opposing the SAFE Act,” he said.

…

The resolution was passed prior to a planned presentation from Will Gray, a local gun rights activist who has been traveling to town and village board meetings and encouraging municipalities to pass resolutions opposing the bill.

“I actually came with copies of resolutions and the SAFE Act to try and convince you to repeal the SAFE Act,” Mr. Gray said. “And you guys already did it. You are amazing. This is the easiest talk I’ve ever given.”

While Mr. Gray said he’s not sure if the law will actually be overturned, he did say the more opposition it receives the better.

“The more towns and villages we can get on board, the better off we’ll be,” he said, adding that to the best of his knowledge, St. Lawrence County, Lisbon, Colton, Norwood, Brasher and now Pierrepont have all passed such resolutions. The town of Parishville is drafting one that they are expected to pass at their next meeting.

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WHEREAS, The Town Board of Clermont has long advocated for protection of the rights afforded to citizens under the Constitution, which has for generations guided our Nation and served as a framework to our democracy and society; and

WHEREAS, The Second Amendment of the United States provides for the “right of the people to keep and bear arms” and further states that this right “shall not be infringed”, and that this right has been a bedrock of our nation for over two centuries; and

WHEREAS, The New York State Legislature has recently adopted legislation, the NY Safe Act, proposed by Governor Cuomo to curtail these rights through the enactment of various anti-gun measures that will significantly impact legal gun owners and various businesses and suppliers of guns and related supplies and equipment; and

WHEREAS, This legislation was approved with scant public notice, very little public debate or review by State Lawmakers, and in the days since the legislation was introduced and enacted, concerns have arisen regarding various matters of law and potential defects in the legislation; and

WHEREAS, the Clermont Town Board believes that portions of the Act are necessary and will in fact increase the safety of the citizens. However, other provisions of the Act appear to be unnecessary, arbitrary, ill-advised and contrary rights guaranteed by the United States Constitution and reaffirmed by the United States Supreme Court and the Courts of the State of New York; and

WHEREAS, the Clermont Town Board believes that an issue of this seriousness and effect should have been granted a respectful and appropriate period of debate, review and consideration; and

WHEREAS, As New York State already has some of the toughest gun legislation in the Country, including the Sullivan Act, and concerns have been voiced that this legislation will not improve public safety in the state, including concerns by Legislators who initially supported the legislation; and

WHEREAS, Additionally, Federal Lawmakers and the President are also considering legislation or executive orders that would further infringe on the Second Amendment; and

WHEREAS, This legislation will unfairly affect the rights of the many law-abiding gun owners in the Town of Clermont and New York State who are granted the right to keep and bear arms under the Constitution; and

WHEREAS, This legislation also does not adequately address the many acts of violence committed by criminals who are likely to ignore this legislation, and does not address the concerns of many residents, particularly those in rural communities, to possess firearms for the purpose of home or self defense, in accordance with the provisions of the Second Amendment; and

WHEREAS, this Legislation imposes a number of unfunded mandates on County government and taxpayers; and

WHEREAS, as written, the Act increases the stigma on the mentally ill; and

WHEREAS, 52 Counties, over 180 towns, and numerous law enforcement and other organizations have enacted resolutions opposing both the process of enactment of the Act as well as certain provisions contained therein; and

WHEREAS, The Clermont Town Board does hereby affirm support for the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and the rights afforded to residents under the Constitution, and opposes attempts to infringe on those rights; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That the Clermont Town Board affirms support for the Second Amendment, and states opposition to the legislation NY Safe Act adopted by the State Legislature restricting the rights of gun owners, and opposes attempts on the Federal level to implement new restrictions on these rights; and, be it further

RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body further requests that the NY Safe Act be repealed during the current state legislative session; and, be it further

RESOLVED, That the Clerk of this Legislative Body is hereby directed to transmit certified copies of this resolution to U.S. Senator Charles Schumer, U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, U.S. Representative Chris Gibson, Governor Andrew Cuomo, State Senator Kathy Marchione, and Assemblywoman Didi Barrett.

WHEREAS, the Town Board of Clermont has long advocated for due process and careful and deliberate consideration of all legislative acts, in particular those which are controversial or have far reaching consequences; and

WHEREAS, the bedrock of the United States of America and its Constitutional form of government is its formation as a nation of law with due process and deliberation; and

WHEREAS, the New York State Constitution recognizes the need of due process, careful deliberation, and transparency in government by declaring that except in times of emergency, “no bill shall be passed or become a law unless it shall have been printed and upon the desks of the members, in its final form, at least three calendar legislative days prior to its final passage”; and

WHEREAS, the New York State Constitutional Conventions of 1915 and 1938 foresaw the danger of indiscriminate use of messages of necessity, the 1915 convention proposing an outright ban on messages of necessity, and the 1938 convention amending the constitution to require the Governor to certify the facts of the emergency and noting: “it is the hope of the members of the committee that if the Governor is required to certify facts which in his opinion constitute an emergency, it will not fall into a pro forma signing of a printed message…”; and

WHEREAS, the use of messages of necessity has sadly indeed become a pro forma convention used to cut short debate and pass controversial legislation in direct contravention to the spirit of the New York State Constitution; and

WHEREAS, messages of necessity have been used over 1,200 times since 1995, including 29 times by Governor Cuomo in 2011, 23 times by governor Spitzer in 2007, and 34 times by Governor Pataki in 2005; and

WHEREAS, messages of necessity have been used to pass controversial legislation such as the Redistricting Statute, the Tier VI Pensions, DNA Database, Teacher Evaluations, and Same Sex Marriage; and

WHEREAS, the Teacher Evaluation act has become a burden and unfunded mandate on local schools, and it seems to many that the end result will be more paperwork and less time for teaching; and

WHEREAS, the Same Sex Marriage act has been recognized to infringe on religious liberties and individual’s consciences, and causes a reduction in needed services when religious organizations are forced by law to stop providing a service or violate their conscience.

RESOLVED, The Town Board of Clermont, declares that messages of necessity are in the majority of cases not used in times of true emergency, and are therefore used frivolously and in contravention to the spirit of the New York State Constitution; and

RESOLVED, That this legislative body calls upon Governor Cuomo and his successors to only issue messages of necessity in times of true emergency; and calls upon the New York State Senate and Assembly to reject messages of necessity unless there is truly an emergency, and in such cases place a brief sunset provision on the bill in question so that a full debate can be held when the emergency is past; and

RESOLVED, That the Clerk of this Legislative Body is hereby directed to transmit certified copies of this resolution to U.S. Senator Charles Schumer, U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, U.S. Representative Chris Gibson, Governor Andrew Cuomo, State Senator Kathy Marchione, and Assemblywoman Didi Barrett.

REFERENCE INFORMATION ON STATISTICS IN RESOLUTION

1915 convention proposed an outright ban on messages of necessity

“Amendments to the State Constitution presented by the New York State federation of labor”, bullet 18, http://archive.org/stream/cu31924009908611#page/n321/mode/2up

“Address to the People of the State of New York”, Doc. No. 54, page 6, http://archive.org/stream/cu31924009908611#page/n737/mode/2up/search/emergency

1938 convention amended the constitution to require the Governor to certify the facts of the emergency

New York State Constitution, Article III §14, http://www.dos.ny.gov/info/constitution.htm

Maybee v. State of N.Y., 828 NE 2d 975 (N.Y. Ct. of Appeals 2005) citing 2 Revised Rec, 1938 NY Constitutional Convention, at 1435

Messages of necessity have been used over 1,200 times since 1995, including 29 times by Governor Cuomo in 2011, 23 times by governor Spitzer in 2007, and 34 times by Governor Pataki in 2005

http://effectiveny.org/fast-fact/message-necessity-immediate-vote/click-see-all-uses-1995

http://effectiveny.org/fast-fact/message-necessity-immediate-vote/cuomo-has-used-message-necessity-29-times-2011-spitzer-us

Messages of necessity have been used to pass controversial legislation such as the Redistricting Statute, the Tier VI Pensions, DNA Database, Teacher Evaluations, and Same Sex Marriage

http://effectiveny.org/issue/Message-of-Necessity-for-Immediate-Vote

Following the Wyoming County Board of Supervisors’ lead, the Orangeville Town Board passed a resolution calling for the recently passed NY SAFE Act to be repealed.

“This is in line with what the county has done and what many counties have done,” Orangeville Town Supervisor Gerald Stout said, citing, among other things, the haste with which the act was passed as reason to repeal.

The resolution passed unanimously without discussion from board members or residents in attendance.

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The Orleans County Legislature revisited the issue of the NY SAFE Act at their April 24th meeting. They unanimously passed a resolution calling for repeal of the NY SAFE Act. Their original resolution, on February 13th, only opposed certain provisions.

According to the article, ‘Allport thanked the residents of the county who showed up at the county building about two weeks ago for a rally in opposition to the SAFE Act. He also said to his fellow legislators that they should oppose the entire act, and not just parts of it.’

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The Orleans County Legislature unanimously passed it’s second resolution against the SAFE Act at it’s meeting on April 24th. The board originally passed a resolution on February 13th against certain provisions of the SAFE Act. This resolution, “calls for reconsideration and repeal of the so called NY SAFE Act of 2013.”

 ORLEANS COUNTY LEGISLATURE ALBION, NEW YORK

RESOLUTION NO. 173-413

ORLEANS COUNTY LEGISLATURE CALLS FOR REPEAL OF THE “NEW YORK SAFE ACT”

WHEREAS, the New York State Legislature enacted and Governor Andrew Cuomo signed into law the New York Secure Ammunition and Firearms Enforcement Act of 2013 (NY SAFE ACT); and

WHEREAS, this legislation is viewed by many citizens of the State of New York as being extremely controversial as those citizens view this Legislation as infringing upon their rights guaranteed to them under the second Amendment of the United State Constitution; and

WHEREAS, each and every issue that comes before the New York State Legislature before an enactment deserves a fair and open discussion which incorporates all points of views in order to ensure that all citizens are heard and that the Legislation incorporates the various points of view expressed during that discussion and benefits all of the citizens of the State of New York; and

WHEREAS, the NY SAFE ACT was adopted after minimal public discussion, contains serious flaws, i.e., police officers are not exempt, and having been on the desks of the members of the New York State Legislature for only a few hours, thereafter was literally adopted in the night and signed into law by Governor Andrew Cuomo; and

WHEREAS, the Governor has pledged to inflict no new unfunded mandates on local governments yet the Act contains no provision for funding the additional duties being imposed upon local Mental Health Departments, County Clerks, or local law enforcement agencies and as such constitutes yet another unfunded mandate by the State upon local municipal government with no corresponding revenue; and

WHEREAS, the Orleans County Legislature, by passage of Resolution No. 82-213, opposed the process of enactment and certain provisions contained within the New York Safe Act; and

WHEREAS, it is believed that many Orleans County residents are deeply concerned with this legislation, its effects, and the undue haste with which it was enacted; be it

RESOLVED, that the Orleans County Legislature calls for reconsideration and repeal of the so called NY SAFE ACT of 2013; and be it

FURTHER RESOLVED, that copies be sent to New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo, Senator George Maziarz, Assembly members Steve Hawley and Jane Corwin, NYSAC, Orleans County Towns and Villages, and all others deemed necessary and appropriate.

Moved, Allport; second, Johnson.

Adopted. 6 ayes; 0 nays; 1 absent, Bower. ORLEANS COUNTY LEGISLATURE ALBION, NEW YORK

RESOLUTION NO. 173-413

-page 2-

COUNTY OF ORLEANS

STATE OF NEW YORK

I hereby certify that the foregoing is a true and correct transcript of a resolution duly adopted by the Orleans County Legislature on the 24th day of April, 2013.

Dated at Albion, New York

April 25, 2013

Coxsackie opponents to the law have now demanded the Coxsackie Town Council do the same.

They packed the Town Hall to ask local elected officials to voice their opposition to the SAFE Act.

“This law that has been passed is illegal,” one opponent said.

Jim Lee, president of the Coxsackie Sportsmen’s Club, said his organization represents hundreds of sportsmen and gun rights activists, and said the law infringed on their rights, which are guaranteed by the Second Amendment.

…

Numerous towns and counties across the state have passed similar resolutions objecting to the act.

The Coxsackie Town Council decided to do so unanimously.

“There are already laws that should be enforced,” Hobart said. “No new rules are needed. Registration of firearms leads to confiscation.”

Town Councilman Jeffery Lewis voiced his opposition to the SAFE Act.

“This is just another political ploy to get everyone in New York State riled up to see how far they can take it,” Lewis said. “What is next, a socialistic society where they can tell us what we can and can’t do every day?”

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The Hartland Town Board unanimously passed a resolution against the SAFE Act on February 14th, 2013. The Board states in the resolution, “the Right of the People to Keep and Bear Arms for defense of Life, liberty, and Property is regarded as an inalienable right by the People of the Town of Hartland, Niagara County, New York.”