Anti 2A Bills

Numerous anti-2A bills get proposed in the NY State legislature every year.   It’s educational to follow a few of them and see the various issues surrounding them.

Keep in mind that the current legislative session includes calendar years 2023 and 2024.  Any bill introduced in 2023 and not rejected is still alive in 2024.  (It dies and must be reintroduced after 2024.)

S138

On January 4, 2023, State Senator Sean Ryan, Brian Kavanagh, Iwen Chu and Julia Salazar (all Democrats) filed proposed law S138 to remove the National Rifle Association from the list of entities authorized to grant certificates as instructors in small arms practice.

S138 is the same as Assembly bill A0663

S138 was passed by the Senate on June 7, 2023 (41 to 20) and was delivered to the Assembly

Assembly has not ever taken a vote on it.

S138 was referred back to Senate Codes Committee

Note: The NRA has a decades long record of first-rate firearm instruction.  Why would it be removed from the list of eligible instructors for anything but political reasons?  This is an excellent example of the Democrat Party using its political power to punish those of which they disapprove.

S140

On January 4, 2023 State Senator Sean Ryan has also filed proposed law S140 which would revoke a license to carry, possess, repair and dispose of firearms for a conviction for failure to safely store rifles, shotguns, and firearms.

S140 was referred to Senate Codes Committee.

Note:  No conviction for any crime is necessary, just fail to store your firearm in accordance with NYS regulations and you would lose your 2A rights.  Sounds unconstitutional, but when has that ever stopped a Democrat gun grabber?

S6033

On March 27, 2023, State Senator Kevin Parker filed proposed law S6033 stating that “Any person in this state who shall own a firearm shall, prior to such ownership, obtain and continuously maintain a policy of liability insurance in an amount not less than one million. Failure to maintain such insurance shall result in the immediate revocation of such owner's registration, license and any other privilege to own such firearm.

S6033 was referred to Senate Insurance Committee.   

Note If you don’t have liability insurance you lose your 2A rights!  What’s next, needing liability insurance to exercise your 1st Amendment rights in case you offend someone?  Again, unconstitutional but that doesn’t stop the Democrats.

Here are three bills lurking in the background.  Do they have a chance of getting passed?  S138 got passed by the Senate and made it to the Assembly which is overwhelmingly Democrat but for some reason the Assembly Speaker did not bring it up for a vote.  The other two are sitting in Senate committees and could be acted upon at any time.

So, what do we do?

Democrats Kavanagh, Chu, Salazar and Parker all have districts in the NY City / Long Island area and are probably safe from 2A supporters effectively challenging them. 

However, Parker is known for violent rages and has been convicted for them and also accused of rape.  Even the far left New York Times editorial board wrote that that Parker was "known as the man with frightening rages that could erupt at any time and on almost any subject…Mr. Parker should be censured, and voters in central Brooklyn should start recruiting a qualified replacement.”

Will the Democrat Party do the right thing and replace him?  The seat would most likely still be in Democrat hands, in any case.

Sean Ryan’s Senate District 61 stretches from Buffalo's inner suburbs to the southwestern corner of Rochester and including parts of Erie and Monroe Counties and all of Genesee County.  Registration is 37.8% Democrat and 33.6% Republican, so it is relatively close.  But in 2022, Ryan won with 56.6% to 43.3% so there are probably Independents in the district who are closet Democrats.  Is he beatable with a strong candidate and support?

S138 passed the Senate on an almost straight party line vote; the only Republican to vote for it was Jack Martins, whose district is on the north shore of Long Island.  Martins is a different problem. His district registration is 40.4% Democrat to 28.4% Republican.  But in 2022 he defeated a Democrat incumbent 53.2% to 46.8%. 

Was Martins tossing his Democrat constituents a bone when he voted for S138.

The answer, again, is for 2A supporters (and others) to get motivated to vote in districts where there is a chance of victory.  Until Republican supporters of 2A get back a majority in the NY State Senate, we are in constant danger of having our 2A rights infringed.