Which state has the largest National Rifle Association chapter in the
nation? No, it’s not Texas. As a matter of fact, it’s not located
anywhere near the Wild West or the south. The answer is New York.
In just one year, the New York State Rifle & Pistol Association
saw its membership almost double – from 22,000 to 41,000. The National
Rifle Association credits the increase to the “Safe Act” (Safe
Ammunition and Firearms Enforcement Act), one of the strictest gun
control laws in the country, hurriedly pushed through by Democratic Gov.
Andrew Cuomo and the state legislature in 2013 following the Newtown,
Conn., school shootings. The NRA says the law is “a largely cosmetic legislative offering” that “instantly turned hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers into potential felons.” Interestingly, very similar to other legislation that was rammed
through with little time for lawmakers or the public to analyze (such as
Obamacare), the state is providing no numbers on how many people are
complying with the law (probably because the numbers are very low), and
courts and other government officials have either overturned, suspended or refused to enforce various elements of the law. All to say that evidence to suggest the law is working or making New York safer is hard to find. Unfortunately, there are indicators the law has affected New York in a
negative way. Last week, 105 workers were laid off at Remington Arms,
one of the largest employers in upstate New York. In February, when Remington announced it would be opening a new plant
in Alabama one of Cuomo’s “spokesguys” (that is how he describes
himself on his Twitter page) said that “no Remington jobs are leaving
NY.” This was Rich Azzopardi’s full tweet from February 15: “Some are misinformed, others gleefully spreading misinformation, but to be clear, no Remington jobs are leaving NY.” Sounds like the only folks who turned out to be “misinformed” and “spreading misinformation” are the folks in Cuomo’s office...more
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