By Tom Reynolds 

When I was SCOPE President, members would occasionally ask me if SCOPE was working on or endorsing a particular anti-SAFE Act proposal. I usually responded something like, “What is the plan to get the bill passed by the NYS Assembly which is overwhelmingly Democratic and then signed by Cuomo”? (The NYS Assembly has about 108 of 150 members who are Democrats and about 75 of the 108 are from the NY City area. Cuomo is the father of the Safe Act. That’s not very fertile ground for building an anti-Safe Act coalition, since Democrats have made gun control a major pillar of their party’s platform). I asked, why should SCOPE waste time and money on something that has no chance of becoming law? 

To repeal the Safe Act – or to get any anti-progressive bill passed – the bill must be coupled with something that the NY City Democrats must have. Two years ago it was NY City Rent Control and last year it was renewal of the 421-A program as Affordable New York. In both instances the Senate Republicans, who sometimes claim to be pro-gun, waffled and refused to force any coupling of proposed bills. They got nothing done for us and nothing substantial for anywhere outside of NY City. 

Since NY City always has its hand out, in this coming year (2018) it will be seeking the $1 billion that Cuomo promised it for the city’s subway system. It is especially important for Cuomo to fulfill this promise as he will be running for reelection in 2018 and needs to secure his base, which is overwhelmingly in NY City. Opportunity for 2A success abounds! But will the Senate Republicans fail us again? Probably - unless we do something different. 

Putting effective pressure on politicians requires either MONEY or VOTES. Let’s look at some voter statistics as to why 2A defenders have not been successful in our anti-SAFE Act efforts. The answer is in the numbers. 

New York State United Teachers (NYSUT) is a major political force in NYS. It has 600,000members and many are not teachers. The Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) is another major political force in NYS. It has about 300,000 members. Combined, they have 900,000 members and it is not too extreme to say that they among the major political forces in NY State. It is estimated there are between 4 and 6 MILLION gun owners in NYS. Half of that lowest estimate would be 1 MILLION MORE VOTES THAT THESE OTHER TWO POLITICAL GIANTS! But gun owners won’t vote. 

New York City has 4.997 million registered voters but only 1.035 million voted in 2014. Again, compare that to the estimates of 4 to 6 million gun owners in NYS. If half of the lowest number of estimated gun owners would vote that would be 1 MILLION MORE VOTES THAN NY CITY cast! The higher estimate of gun owners is more than the total registered voters in NY City. But gun owners won’t vote. 

In the last election, Cuomo won with about 2.1 million votes out of less than 4 million that were cast. You do the comparison this time. 

We hear gun owners say that their vote won’t make any difference. Actually, it’s their non-vote that makes the difference. 

I recently spoke with the aide to a state legislator and I said something about gun owners not voting. He replied with frustration, “We know”! What he did not add was the obvious follow up that gun owners are not a force to be reckoned with in New York since they don’t vote. 

I realize that all of the above groups, including gun owners, won’t vote the same. But people do vote their personal interests. The potential voting numbers of gun owners is too great to ignore. 

While we would like to see gun owners join SCOPE or other 2A organizations. In reality, most people who join 2A organizations are not active in them. But if they only voted, that would dramatically change the political environment in NY State. 

The other major factor in politics is money. As individuals, very few if any of us have enough money to make a difference. But, again, the numbers are easy to calculate. If only 1 million gun owners joined a 2A organization, that would make $25 to $30 million in dues available to defend the 2A. Those are numbers that spur politicians to action. 

It’s a two-step process: first register and then vote. We need to couple with other 2A organizations and make voter registrations the number one priority. Then, on Election Day, we need to ensure that they vote. Those that say their vote will not make a difference simply are wrong. 

I said in an earlier article that it is important to register in a political party before this November’s election in order to be able to participate in party primaries. I don’t enjoy voting for the lesser of two evils and primaries give us the chance to really make our voices heard. 

The opportunity is there. The numbers are there. We have the time if we get started.