Monthly Archives: July 2013

Surrogate Court form reporting firearms when someone dies

The SAFE Act adds a new requirement that when someone dies all firearms must be reported on a separate inventory from and be filed with the Division of Criminal Justice Services as well as with the court. See below for a copy of the inventory form:

Surrogate Court by Evan Hempel

Village of Albion Passes Resolution

The Village of Albion is the latest Orleans County municipality to pass a resolution against the SAFE Act. The resolution was adopted by the village on July 24th, 2013.

As of August 7th, there are only three municipalities left within Orleans County that have not yet passed a resolution against the SAFE Act..

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RESOLUTION 2013-7 OF THE VILLAGE OF ALBION OPPOSING THE PROCESS OF ENACTMENT AND REQUESTING REPEALING OF THE NEW YORK SECURE AMMUNITION AND FIREARMS ENFORCEMENT (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,

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 Village of Albion; and,

WHEREAS, the lawful ownership of firearms is, and has been, a valued tradition in Albion, and the rights protected by the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution are exercised by many of our residents; and,

WHEREAS, the people of the Village of Albion and the State of New York derive economic and environmental benefits from all safe forms of recreation involving firearms, including, but not limited to, hunting and target shooting while utilizing all types of firearms available under the Constitution of the United States; and,

WHEREAS, the enactment of the NY SAFE Act (Chapter 1 of Laws of 2013) has prompted significant debate over both the process by which it was enacted and certain provisions contained within it; and,

WHEREAS, having reviewed the legislation and severely restrictive time constraints under which it was passed, it is our conclusion that there is no possible way any individual could read the entire bill and understand its full implications prior to voting on it; and,

WHEREAS, our state legislators most certainly did not have the time to request, and receive, the input of their constituents regarding this matter; and,

WHEREAS, there will be a significant financial impact due to the permits that will have to be renewed requiring additional manpower and computer systems their associated expense; 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, this legislation severely impacts the possession and use of firearms now employed for defense of life, liberty, and property; and,

WHEREAS, this legislation severely impacts the possession and use of firearms now employed for forms of recreation including, but not limited to, hunting and target shooting; and,

WHEREAS, we find the legislation does little more than negatively impact lawful gun ownership.

NOW, BE IT RESOLVED, that, the Village of Albion does hereby oppose, and request the repeal of any legislation, including the sections within the NY SAFE Act (Chapter 1 of the Laws of 2013), which infringe upon the right of the people to keep and bear arms;

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Village of Albion requests the members of New York State Senate and Assembly who represent all, or part of, Orleans County to reply, in writing, with their views on, and actions taken, in support of, or opposition to, the NY SAFE Act;

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that a copy of this resolution be sent to President Barack Obama, Vice President Joseph Biden, Governor Andrew Cuomo, Senator Charles Schumer, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, Congressman Chris Collins, New York State Senator George Maziarz, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, New York State Assembly member Steve Hawley, and all other individuals and/or entities deemed necessary and proper.

 

VILLAGE OF ALBION

STATE OF NEW YORK

I hereby certify that the foregoing is a true and correct transcript of a resolution duly adopted by Village of Albion on the 24thday of July, 2013.

Linda K Babcock

Clerk-Treasurer, Village of Albion

New York American Legion Convention Opens with Resolution on SAFE act

Repeal ‘SAFE’ Act

The delegate body overwhelmingly approved a resolution urging the New York State Legislature to repeal the Secure Ammunition and Firearms Enforcement (SAFE) Act. Hoping to ensure that veterans ceremonies involving weapons were not in violation of the law, the resolution passed with a thundering roar of “ayes.” The resolution claims the gun control act goes too far and violates the Second Amendment Rights of veterans, and also urges police departments to respect veterans rights to own firearms of their choice.

Source: http://www.nylegion.com/2013/07/convention-opens-with-resolutions-top.html

More information on our FOIL request

A dedicated supporter crunched through the 558 pages of resolutions we got in response to our FOIL request to the governor’s office. Overall, the request produced documentation identifying 200 municipal resolutions in opposition to the SAFE Act, most of the 52 county resolutions in opposition, and a handful of resolutions in support. Of the municipal resolutions in opposition, there were 48 (spread across 28 counties) which were not already identified on the http://NYSafeResolutions.com/ webpage. At the time of receipt of the FOIL request, we were already aware of 253 resolutions in opposition to the SAFE Act, and many of those 253 were not included in the FOIL request. The combination of the 253 previously known resolutions with the 48 new resolutions in the FOIL request, now result in an overall total of 301 municipal resolutions in opposition to date. The many dozens of missing resolutions from the FOIL request could have been missing for any of several reasons, including: some municipalities that did not mail their resolutions to the Executive Chamber; mail mis-filings by Executive Chamber staff; recently passed resolutions which have not yet been mailed, or not yet processed by the Executive Chamber staff at the time the FOIL request was compiled and provided. But, regardless of these reasons, what we have on the http://NYSafeResolutions.com/ webpage is the most complete, accurate, up-to-date record of documented resolutions in opposition to the NYS SAFE Act. With the help of our many supporters, we will continue to provide these important information updates.

Please continue to visit your town and village boards, and use Privilege of the Floor to express your desire that they pass resolutions in support of Civil Rights and 2A, and also, to review the municipal list, and let us know if we are missing any!

Additionally if you are part of any civic organization, particularly one impacted by the law, please consider pursuing passage of a resolution or writing a letter of opposition. Many police, veteran, medical, and hunting organizations have already done this.

Governor Cuomo’s response to our FOIL request

On May 15, many of us sent a FOIL request to the office of Governor Cuomo to send us a list of Resolutions he has received on the SAFE act.  July 12th we got a response:

July 12, 2013

Dear Mr. Hempel:

This letter responds to your correspondence dated May 15, 2013 which, pursuant to FOIL, requested:

lists of the following categories:

1. all counties which have sent a copy of a resolution or other statement regarding the SAFE act or second amendment or gun rights
2. all cities which have sent a copy of a resolution or other statement regarding the SAFE act or second amendment or gun rights
3. all towns which have sent a copy of a resolution or other statement regarding the SAFE act or second amendment or gun rights
4. all towns which have sent a copy of a resolution or other statement regarding the SAFE act or second amendment or gun rights
5. all villages which have sent a copy of a resolution or other statement regarding the SAFE act or second amendment or gun rights
6. all law enforcement groups which have sent a copy of a resolution or other statement regarding the SAFE act or second amendment or gun rights
7. all other governmental bodies which have sent a copy of a resolution or other statement regarding the SAFE act or second amendment or gun rights

In each of these lists, provide the name of the entity and whether the resolution or statement was in favor of the SAFE act, in opposition, or neutral.

Please be advised that we performed a diligent search for the records you request. Although the Executive Chamber does not possess any list containing the information that you seek, we located five hundred fifty-eight (558) pages of resolutions and official statements from counties, towns, villages, and other governmental bodies. You may access the records here: https://www.yousendit.com/download/bWJvUGhRMm1wcFdybHNUQw

To the extent you are not satisfied with this response, pursuant to Public Officers Law § 89(4)(a), you have thirty (30) days to take a written appeal of this determination. You may make an appeal by writing: FOIL Appeals Officer, Executive Chamber, State of New York, Albany, New York, 12224.

Very truly yours,

George Stiefel III
FOIL Counsel
Records Access Officer


Index:

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FOIL SAFE act resolutions from Gov Cuomo by Evan Hempel

Town of Potsdam resolution opposing the NY SAFE act

TOWN OF POTSDAM

SAFE ACT

MOTION made by Councilman Zagrobelny and second by Councilwoman Rivezzi to approve following resolution

WHEREAS, we the board members of the Town of Potsdam, NY believe the New York State Secure Ammunition and Firearms Enforcement Act (SAFE Act) was hastily passed and reflects many flaws and poorly considered aspects, and

Whereas, we feel there is a need for a thoughtful debate on the matter of restrictions on the use of firearms in our society,

NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Potsdam Town Board request the our New York State Representatives convene public hearings to gain information which would be used to amend, replace, and repair flaws in the SAFE ACT, and

Be it further resolved that the Potsdam Town Board directs the Town Clerk to send this resolution to the Governor and Assembly and Senate representatives.