Town of Harrisburg resolution opposing NY SAFE

Resolution was adopted at the regular February Town Board meeting of the Town of Harrisburg, Lewis County, NY on 2/14/2013

TOWN OF HARRISBURG

RESOLUTION NO. _____ – 2013

RESOLUTION OPPOSING THE NEW YORK STATE SECURE AMMUNITION AND FIREARMS ENFORCEMENT ACT (S.A.F.E.) ACT OF 2013

Introduced by Supervisor Stephen N. Bernat

WHEREAS, the Second Amendment to the Constitution of the United States states: “…the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”; and

WHEREAS, Article II, Section 4 of the Civil Rights Law of the State of New York states: “…the right of the people to keep and bear arms cannot be infringed.”; and

WHEREAS, the Declaration of Independence of the United States of America acknowledges the human right of self defense when it states: “…all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”; and

WHEREAS, the S.A.F.E. Act does infringe upon the right of the people of the State of New York to peacefully enjoy the right to keep and bear arms for hobby, sport, hunting and personal protection; and

WHEREAS, Article III, Section 14 of the Constitution of the State of New York states: “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, unless the governor, or the acting governor, shall have certified, under his or her hand and the seal of the state, the facts which in his or her opinion necessitate an immediate vote thereon…”; and

WHEREAS, the facts did not necessitate an immediate vote on this legislation and thus the Governor’s order of necessity suggests an attempt to bypass the constitutional process; and

WHEREAS, the Senate Leadership failed to accept the responsibility to act as a check and balance on the Governor’s unnecessary use of the message of necessity; and

WHEREAS, the S.A.F.E. act was rushed through the Senate with as little as 20 minutes for Senators to review the bill, without a single public hearing, passed by the Assembly and signed into law less than 24 hours after first being presented, giving no opportunity for constituents to comment on the bill and no time for proper consideration of the implications of its provisions; and

WHEREAS, this legislation creates an environment in the State which is hostile to gun manufacture and ownership; and

WHEREAS, ownership of firearms is a valued tradition in New York State which must remain available to all honest citizens; and

WHEREAS, the new definition of “assault weapon” is so broad, based upon one arbitrary feature, as to prevent the possession of many firearms that are legitimately used for hunting, target shooting and self defense; and

WHEREAS, these newly defined “assault weapons” were used in only 5 out of 769 homicides in New York State last year and FBI reports show that hammers and clubs are the weapon of choice in more deaths than rifles and shotguns; and

WHEREAS, the 7 round limit on magazine capacity is arbitrary and criminalizes the sale, use and intended function of even most semiautomatic .22 caliber rimfire rifles and pistols including those held within a law-abiding citizen’s own home; and

WHEREAS, requiring background checks for ammunition purchases constitutes an unnecessary burden on sportsmen and will create an artificially inflated cost of ammunition and limit availability to ordinary citizens while having absolutely no effect on crime rates; and

WHEREAS, tragic mass killings invariably occur in gun-free zones where dangerously mentally ill and other lawless perpetrators feel safe; and

WHEREAS, law-abiding citizens are not and have not been the source of criminal activity; and

WHEREAS, criminals by definition do not obey the law and will continue to use whatever firearm and magazine they want; and

WHEREAS, this legislation is so fundamentally flawed due to its rushed drafting and lack of proper deliberation that now all semiautomatic pistols having a detachable magazine and a pistol grip are classified as assault weapons, police cannot legally carry more than 7 rounds in their weapons and police responding to an incident at a school cannot legally bring their weapons with them; and

WHEREAS, this legislation fails to offer any meaningful solutions to the epidemic of gun violence, making criminals more SAFE and honest citizens less SAFE.

Now, Therefore, BE IT RESOLVED as follows:

RESOLVED, that the Town Board of the Town of Harrisburg, Lewis County, New York does hereby oppose the enactment of the New York State Secure Ammunition and Firearms Enforcement Act of 2013 because it fundamentally alters or abridges the right to keep and bear arms without addressing the problems of gun violence; and be it further

RESOLVED, that the Town Board of the Town of Harrisburg, Lewis County, New York does hereby call upon the New York State Legislature and the Governor to repeal, set aside and annul this ill conceived and poorly drafted statute which abridges the rights of law abiding citizens of the State of New York; and be it further

RESOLVED, that the Town Board of the Town of Harrisburg, Lewis County, New York does hereby call upon the New York State Legislature to conduct hearings where the public is afforded the right to participate in the legislative process where the issue of gun violence and the treatment of the dangerously mentally ill might actually produce meaningful results; and be it further

RESOLVED, that certified copies of this Resolution shall be forwarded to the Governor of the State of New York, Senator Joseph Griffo, Assemblyman Kenneth Blankenbush and the New York State Association of Towns.

Moved by Councilman__Nevills____, seconded by Councilman__Snyder_____

ADOPTED: VOTE – AYES__4___ NAYS__0___ ABSENT__1___

February 14, 2013