Town of Coeymans resolutions calling for repeal of NY SAFE act and opposing mandatory firearms liability insurance

RES. #54-13 AUTHORIZE SUPPORT OF SECOND AMENDMENT

On motion of Councilman Masti, seconded by Councilman Boehm, the following resolution was APPROVED – VOTE – AYES 5 – NAYS 0 – SO MOVED

CALLING FOR REPEAL OF THE ENACTMENT OF THE NEW YORK SAFE ACT

WHEREAS, the Right of the People to Keep and Bear Arms is guaranteed as an Individual Right under the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution and that this right is regarded as an inalienable right of the people of the Town of Coeymans; and

WHEREAS, the lawful ownership and use of firearms is, and has been, a valued tradition in the Town of Coeymans and that the right to bear arms is exercised by many Town residents for which the Town derives economic and environmental benefits from safe forms of recreation involving firearms which includes hunting and target shooting; and

WHEREAS, our New York State representatives could not and did not have the time to request and receive the input of their constituents regarding this matter which is the standard by which the Town of Coeymans holds itself to when it comes to the enactment of such a controversial law and is a matter of simple due process; and

WHEREAS, the crafting of the New York SAFE Act resulted in complex policy changes, many subject to interpretation and are confusing to a vast number of public officials as well as the law enforcement officials who are required to enforce and explain them; and

WHEREAS, in our opinion, there was no reason for the Governor to use a message of necessity to bring this bill to vote immediately and bypass the three day maturing process for all legislation; and

WHEREAS, requiring law-abiding firearms owners to verify ownership of certain types of firearms every five years, in addition to registering them on their permits, which now must also be renewed every five years, does not increase the safety of the public and is unnecessarily burdensome to the residents of New York State; 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 is a back-door approach to all firearms registration; and

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

WHEREAS, while there are some areas of the legislation that the Town of Coeymans finds encouraging, such as addressing glaring shortcomings in the mental health system, the strengthening of Kendra’s Law and Mark’s Law (which provides additional penalties for assaulting first responders), as well as privacy protections for pistol permit holders, by-and-large, we find the legislation does little more than negatively impact lawful firearms ownership;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Town of Coeymans Town Board does hereby demand the repeal of all the section of the New York SAFE Act which we believe infringes upon the right of the people to keep and bear arms; and is in our opinion unconstitutional under both the Federal and State Constitution; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Town of Coeymans strongly encourages the 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 be it further

RESOLVED, that the Town of Coeymans Town Board requests the member of the New York State Senate and Assembly who represent all or part of the Town of Coeymans, to reply in writing, with their views on, and actions taken, in support of, or opposition to, the New York SAFE Act; and be it further

RESOLVED, that copies of this resolution be sent to Governor Andrew Cuomo, Senator Dean Skelos, Senator Cecelia Tkaczyk, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, Assemblyman Peter Lopez and the New York State Association of Towns.

RES. #55-13 OPPOSITION OF FIREARMS MANDATE TO BUY LIABILITY INSURANCE

On motion of Councilman Boehm, seconded by Councilwoman Rogers, the following resolution was APPROVED – VOTE – AYES 5 – NAYS 0 – SO MOVED

WHEREAS, there is currently pending in the New York State Assembly Bill #AD3908, which will require owners of firearms to obtain liability insurance in an amount not less than one million dollars; and

WHEREAS, said proposed legislation has been referred to the Assembly Legislative Committee on Insurance; and

WHEREAS, this proposed legislation constitutes nothing more tan a back door approach to prohibit legal firearms ownership in this State; and

WHEREAS, such mandatory insurance coverage would accomplish nothing more than to burden responsible, law-abiding taxpayers wile doing nothing to prevent the perpetrators of criminal acts involving firearms; and

WHEREAS, it is constitutionally impermissible to require citizens to obtain liability insurance to exercise their rights under the second amendment; and

WHEREAS, the only predictable outcome of the passage of this law is an increase in profits to insurance companies;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Town of Coeymans herby strongly opposes any attempt to mandate firearms owners to buy liability insurance; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Coeymans Town Board requests the members of the New York State Senate and Assembly who represent all, or part of, Town of Coeymans to reply in writing with their views on, and actions taken, in support of, or opposition to the Proposed Firearms Insurance Bill, and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that copies of this resolution be sent to Governor Andrew Cuomo, Senator Dean Skelos, Senator Cecilia Tkaczyk, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, Assemblyman Peter Lopez, Assemblyman Felix Ortiz and the New York State Association of Towns.