Town of Salisbury resolution opposing NY SAFE act

RESOLUTION OF THE TOWN BOARD, OF THE TOWN OF SALISBURY, IN THE COUNTY OF HERKIMER, OPPOSING THE NEW YORK SECURE AMMUNITION AND FIREARMS ENFORCEMENT ACT OF 2013

WHEREAS, the 2^nd Amendment to the Constitution of the United States states “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed”; and

WHEREAS, Article 2, Section 4 of the New York Civil Rights Law states: “Right to keep and bear arms. A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms cannot be infringed”; and

WHEREAS, the right to bear arms is guaranteed by the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, as well as the Civil Rights Law of the State of New York; and

WHEREAS, 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 Salisbury, Herkimer County, New York and shall not be infringed; and

WHEREAS, the Salisbury Town Board, has been elected to represent the People of Salisbury and have taken an Oath to uphold the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of New York; and

WHEREAS, members of the New York State Assembly and the New York State Senate, being elected by the people of New York State, are duly sworn by their oath of office to uphold the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of New York; and

WHEREAS, the New York State Secure Ammunition and Firearms Enforcement Act of 2013, commonly referred to as the NY SAFE ACT, which was rushed to passage by the New York State Senate, Assembly and Governor, will have a detrimental effect on hunters, sportsmen, legal gun owners, as well as local residents employed by the Remington Arms Company; and

WHEREAS, New York State Secure Ammunition and Firearms Enforcement Act of 2013 bans the possession and use of firearms now employed by individual citizens of the Town of Salisbury, for defense of Life, Liberty and Property and would ban the possession and use of firearms now employed for safe forms of firearms recreation, hunting and shooting conducted within the Town of Salisbury, Herkimer County, New York; and

WHEREAS, this legislation imposes burdensome new regulations upon law abiding gun owners and will curtail the rights of law abiding citizens of this State; and

WHEREAS, this legislation, while denying the rights of law abiding citizens, fails to address the problem of acts of violence perpetrated by criminals and those who are dangerously mentally ill; and

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

WHEREAS, this legislation was passed in such haste without opportunity for the public or even members of the Legislature voting on it to truly understand its implications; and

WHEREAS, Governor Cuomo has proposed spending $36 million dollars in his 2013-2014 Executive budget for the implementation of the NY SAFE Act at a time when New York State residents are crying out for tax relief; and

WHEREAS, while there are some areas of the legislation that the Town Board of the Town of Salisbury finds encouraging, such as addressing glaring shortcomings in the mental health system, the strengthening of Kendra’s Law and Mark’s law, as well as privacy protections for pistol permit holders, by-and-large, we find the legislation does little more than negatively impact lawful gun ownership; and

WHEREAS, those firearm magazines with a capacity larger than seven rounds, which are authorized to be retained by existing owners, may only be loaded with seven rounds and eventually must be permanently altered to only accept seven rounds or be disposed of, thus constituting a seizure of legally owned personal property with no provision for compensation; and

WHEREAS, few or no low capacity (7 rounds or less) magazines currently exist for many of the firearms commonly possessed by law-abiding residents of New York State; and

WHEREAS, limiting the number of rounds to seven versus ten is arbitrary and capricious, has no correlation to public safety, unfairly burdens law-abiding gun owners, and puts an undue burden on gun manufacturers to retool their manufacturing plants; and

WHEREAS, the only persons who will comply with the new high-capacity magazine ban are law-abiding citizens, leaving the same high-capacity magazines in the hands of those who choose not to obey the law; and

WHEREAS, requiring documentation of all ammunition sales in New York State, as provided for in this legislation, is a significant unfunded mandate on businesses; and

WHEREAS, this legislation fails to offer any meaningful solutions to gun violence and places increased burdens where they do not belong, squarely on the backs of law-abiding citizens; and

WHEREAS, this legislation effectively turns countless New York State law-abiding gun owners into criminals; and

WHEREAS, the Salisbury Town Board believes there are many other less intrusive means available, other than rash, confusing, and inarticulately drafted firearms laws that would effectively, control, manage, and reduce violence in our society, such as, mental health reforms, anti-bullying programs for schools, enforcement of existing firearms laws to the fullest extent possible, and proper psychological counseling for those in need or who request it; Now,

THEREFORE, IT BE AND IS HEREBY RESOLVED that the Salisbury Town Board does hereby oppose the enactment of the New York State Secure Ammunition and Firearms Enforcement Act of 2013, commonly referred to as the NY SAFE ACT, 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 this Legislature hereby calls upon the New York State Legislature and Governor to repeal this ill conceived and poorly drafted statute which violates 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 Salisbury strongly encourages members of the New York State Legislature to hold public hearings to address the issue of gun violence in a way that will produce meaningful results; and further be it

RESOLVED, that certified copies of this resolution shall be sent to: Senator Charles Schumer, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, Congressman Bill Owens, Governor Andrew Cuomo, Senator Hugh Farley and Assemblyman Marc Butler.

The aforegoing Resolution, offered by Councilman Simpson, and seconded by ___________________, was duly put to a roll call vote as follows:

Councilman Palmeter _____________

Councilman Congdon _____________

Councilman Walrath _____________

Councilman Simpson _____________

Supervisor Farquhar _____________

The foregoing Resolution was thereupon declared duly adopted, March___, 2013

Salisbury Resolution in Opposition to NY Safe Act by Evan Hempel