Coming off of his toughest test yet to win re-election in 2012, Bay Ridge Republican-Conservative Marty Golden may soon be tested with a great crisis of the soul — one where either choice has within it dire consequences for his continuing to be a New York State Senator
There was an interesting article in Newsday a few days ago, “Gun issue to test State Senate coalition” by Yancey Roy, posted on December 23, 2012 [ yancey.roy@newsday.com ].
According to the Roy article, “...The Cuomo administration has rushed to try to make New York the first to pass legislation since the Newtown shootings that left 27 dead, including 20 children. He said he would unveil "a full package" of proposals in his State of the State address on Jan. 9.”
It’s widely believed that Cuomo’s proposals will have no real problems in the Democrat-led Assembly, which has long backed stronger gun laws. For example, speaking of the Newtown, Connecticut tragedy, Brooklyn Assemblyman Karim Camara leader of the Black and Hispanic Caucus said, "If this can't motivate us, what can?" However, it is also widely believed that those measures might have tougher sledding in the New York State Senate.
Yancy Roy observed that, “...Historically, the GOP-led Senate hasn't taken up the Assembly's assault-weapons legislation, focusing more on illegal guns. Republicans lost outright control of the Senate this fall, and [Republican Majority Leader Dean Skelos ] has forged a coalition of 30 Republicans and six Democrats to run the 63-seat chamber.” In that arrangement, Skelos will be "co-leader" with Bronx Democrat Jeff Klein, head of a group called the Independent Democratic Conference, who numbers among its members the Brooklyn-Staten Island Democrat, Diane Savino. So far, there are no agreements on any agenda for the new governing coalition, and that includes on gun matters.
Nonetheless, Klein has quickly embraced the idea of toughening gun laws, saying the "IDC wholeheartedly supports swift, meaningful action"; and Yancy Roy reported that even a Skelos spokesman has said: "If there is a law that could prevent the tragedy that took place in ... Connecticut from happening here, we have a responsibility to pursue it." That certainly makes it look like somewhere along the line there will be a meaningful vote on gun legislation in the next session of the NYS Senate.
Given that Cuomo has talked about everything being on the table, including the possibility of large-scale confiscation of a the class of fire arms generally known as “assault weapons” or "assault rifles" [ARs], matters could get very sticky for many Republican State Senators very quickly. According to Fred Dicker in the 12/24/12 NY Post, “Senate Republicans, who will retain enormous power in January, have made it clear they don’t support confiscation of assault weapons or any new severe restrictions on their ownership.”
That means that State Senator Golden will probably be getting lots of calls on his cell while the State Senate is in session. I just can't seem to forget that “Golden Moment” when “Marty” just had to take a call when the “pro-gun-control, pro-Bloomberg, pro-crime victim and pro-police” micro-stamping bill was up for a vote in the Senate Chamber a couple of years ago? I also wonder how long Senator Marty will keep talking about how important the manufacture of Bushmaster ARs in New York State is for “jobs, jobs, jobs. ” You see Marty Golden gets very shifty very quickly when you look him in the eye and ask him direct questions about real things like gun control. I've been there, I know.
Marty Golden was a democrat until it was better to be a Republican. His non aggression pact with Vito Lopez has been grandfathered in by Frank "leave the reform take the cannolli's" Seddio. I dont think Martys going to have a viable opponent.
ReplyDeleteUPDATE: LOOK AT HOW THE VILLAGE VOICE IS HANDLING WHAT NEW YORK'S ANTI-GUN-NUT GOVERNOR IS “PROPOSING” OR AT LEAST TALKING ABOUT:
ReplyDeleteThis is what the Village Voice has to say about the Governor’s most recent comments about his upcoming gun-control proposals:
“...[S]ince [Governor Andrew Cuomo’s] inauguration, he's been strident on gun control, siding with Mayor Bloomberg on the need for more regulation in Albany and Washington. And that attention ramped up after Newtown: Cuomo declared that our national gun obsession was "fundamentally a federal matter" but "loopholes" remained in state laws.” http://blogs.villagevoice.com/runninscared/2012/12/gun_control_in.php
According to John Surico’s post “ Guns – Gun Control In Albany: Cuomo Pushes For Strictest Magazine Ban In Nation” in the 12/26/12 Village Voice Blogs, Cuomo is “...demanding that his colleagues confront the issue head on by expanding the scope of the installed assault weapons ban. *** As of now, that ban only includes semi-auto shotguns and rifles and pistols with detachable, automatic magazine clips - however, after what happened in Webster, N.Y., on Christmas Eve, it seems as if more direct attention needs to be placed on what guns are actually being sold out there. To note, the shooter in Webster owned the same gun used by Adam Lanza: a Bushmaster assault rifle. *** Also, the Governor seeks another provision in Albany: limiting magazines to seven bullets a clip. If passed, it will be the strictest limit on actual bullets our nation has ever seen. And this kind of sentence is usually followed by the politics of it all: yes, there are a few people who definitely do not want to listen to the Governor....”
After mentioning the opposition of the 40,000 member New York State Rifle and Pistol Association, and the probable lack any support for the Governor’s suggested confiscation/buy-back program, the Voice’s John Surico summed-up as follows:
“However, above all, the most important factor we have to take in account in this impending political battle is the shifting tides on this issue. As we have said before, Newtown has proven to be a tipping point (at least, conversationally) and it remains to be seen how politicians far and wide are affected by this new call to action from the voters that put and keep them in power. *** With that being said, we'll hear more from the Governor next month in his State of the State address.
Guns dont kill people. Bullets kill people.
ReplyDeleteAssault Rifles is just an NRA politically correct name for a machine gun. Yancey Roy is a great Albany writer when it comes to NYS issues. As far as Golden's vote to Cuomo's gun ban I cant tell where Sen Golden stands on this since there are no windows in my basement. If I cant see which way the wind is blowing how could I know where Golden is ?
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