frontlines

By Tom Reynolds 

Not only the fringe left, but now even such main stream Democratic “intellects” like Kristin Gillibrand would call for the opening of our borders, the abolishment of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE) and, of course, the neutering or repeal of the Second Amendment. They are so caught up in the Washington Merry-Go-Round that they have lost sight of what a dangerous world we live in. Ignore, for the moment, hunting and protection from our own government as reasons for gun ownership. There are a world of reasons why we need guns, but these “intellects” would disarm us while opening our borders.

Let’s take a quick world tour of places you don’t want to visit and where the civilian population certainly wishes they had guns.

Russia has a long history of and is still a symbol of internal oppression with its crackdown on rights and freedom within Russia. Corruption is widespread and believed to be a major factor in drug and sex trafficking. Externally, it invaded Crimea and supports Syria’s regime.

Want to visit Asia?

China has a record of oppression and it has unleashed a campaign of politically motivated investigations, detentions and sentencing of its own people. It threatens Taiwan, which has been independent for about 70 years. China is also trying to gain control of international waters in the South China Sea. India has long been plagued by hostility and hate along caste and religious lines. The BJP ruling party wants to make India a Hindu theocracy and has created a hostile and violent environment against religious minorities.

India has nuclear weapons and has a history of warfare with its neighbor, Pakistan.

Pakistan is infamous for its religious persecution, corruption and cooperation with terrorists. It has fought four wars with India, and also has nuclear weapons.

Want to visit the Middle East, which is dominated by Sunni and Shiite Muslims who, since Mohammed died, have hated each other almost as much as they hate infidels?

Iran is a major exporter of terrorism and a threat throughout the Middle East. It is dominated by a Muslim theocracy and its economy is a mess in spite of huge oil reserves.

Iraq has huge oil reserves and was controlled by Saddam Hussein, a dictator who brutalized his people and supported international terrorism. He was temporarily succeeded by ISIS, a radical Muslim terrorist organization which rivaled Hussein in brutal violence. Only the re-intervention of the U.S. prevents ISIS from regaining control, brutalizing its people and threatening the world with its brand of terrorism.

Afghanistan was controlled by the Taliban, which brutalized its people, and was a base for terrorists. Only the intervention of the U.S. prevents the Taliban from regaining control and again brutalizing its people and threatening the world with terrorism.

Syria has been in a civil war since 2011 which has resulted in an estimated half million deaths. The government used poison gas against its own people. It is opposed by ISIS, so the people of Syria cannot win.

The Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza continually launch rocket attacks on Israel, which happens to be the only real U.S. ally in the region.

How about an African safari? It has its share of problems with radical Muslims.

Nigeria drew headlines with the kidnapping and forced marriages of schoolgirls by the radical Muslim Boko Haram, which also uses suicide bombings. Cameroon, Niger and Chad are being drawn into the conflict.

Somalia is torn apart by the Islamic group Al-Shabab. One bombing in 2017 killed 358 people.

Armed groups in the Central African Republic use rape and sexual slavery as a tactic of war.

South Africa has one of the world’s highest violent crime rates. Its government position is to take farms away from white farmer owners leading to murders and violence against those white farmers.

How about Latin America? Amnesty International has declared it the world’s most dangerous place for journalists to work.

Columbia is a major drug exporter, with its associated violence. Groups such as FARC and ELN are behind assassinations, kidnappings and extortions.

Brazil, El Salvador and Honduras have a huge problem with crime. Venezuela is among the most violent places in South America. Although it has some of the world’s largest oil reserves, its store shelves are empty and inflation has run rampant. 

Mexico is traditionally a corrupt country and has a brutal internal war against and among drug cartels. It is a major exporter of illegal drugs into the U.S. In case you hadn’t noticed, Mexico is on our southern border.

I’ll stick to North of our border for my vacation.

Canada is on our northern border and is an island of stability, except that it has a very strange Prime Minister who may change that status.

In a world of instability, hatred and violence, what kind of idiot would want to take away the people’s ability to defend themselves? Answer: Obama, Cuomo, Gillibrand and Schumer.

I could point out that the above “Garden Spots” are dominated by the ocracies that do not tolerate religious minorities, have radical Muslims and brutalize women. In many cases they have huge reserves of oil and natural gas but also have socialist governments to waste the assets, persecute the citizens and take guns away from their citizens in order to better exploit them. But that’s another story.  

By Harold Moskowitz 

“November is coming, November is coming.” Should this call to attention create less anxiety than “the British are coming” from 1775, or from the Cold War, “the Russians are coming?” Politics, like diplomacy, is conducting war by other means. Yes, we are in a “war,” a war for determining the future of this nation and the conditions under which your descendants will live. Our nation is being undermined by internal and external forces.

The Democrat Party is no longer the party of John F. Kennedy and Daniel Patrick Moynihan. Gradually, it has been taken over by those who eagerly support a socialist central government with limited individual liberties. Several Congressional Democrats are currently members of the Democratic Socialists of America. Its members work to transform the nation from capitalism to socialism. Senator Bernie Sanders, a socialist who chose to have his honeymoon in Moscow, calls for new economic entitlements which could not long be funded even if “the one percent” was relieved of every last dollar for redistribution of wealth.

In a New York City primary race, a 28-year-old Democratic Socialist, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, defeated her long-time incumbent opponent. She campaigned on providing a national guaranteed income for all. Her entitlement wish list is longer than that of Senator Sanders. For now, congressional Democrats are distancing themselves from her for fear of a “negative” impact in the midterm elections. Privately, many of them believe the transformation from capitalism to socialism should be done slowly in smaller steps. Socialist and communist candidates are shedding their “progressive” camouflage and are indicating their goals for this nation. With their siren lure of “free” entitlements, they are making the midterm election a referendum on a socialist economic and political future for all of us. Tom Perez, the left-wing chairman of the Democratic Committee, has praised OcasioCortez as “the future of our national party.” If that is not a “red flag” for you, then revisit the historical relationship between the setting up of socialist governments and gun control. It always leads to firearm confiscation. The Second Amendment’s right to self-defense might be the only thing holding back left-wing Progressive Democrats from quickly ending U.S. sovereignty and individual liberties.

Our traditional American values are under attack, and indirectly, our Constitution. We watch as a lawfully elected President is constantly attacked. The Executive Branch of our Constitutional Republic and its authority are being undermined, perhaps irreparably. There is an expanding chasm between today’s Democrat Party and most Americans. Some wonder if there is the possibility of an eventual civil war. Yes, November is coming. A Democrat “Blue Wave” would set the stage for impeachment proceedings against the President. This would hamper his ability to effectively protect the nation. In addition, a veto-proof Democrat majority would result in a slew of anti-firearm regulations, including national firearm registration, the required first step toward confiscation.

Even without Russian interference in the November elections, their continuing efforts to interfere by dividing our people seems to be successful. The nation’s highest intelligence office, Dan Coats, has said that “much as the soviets did in the Cold War, the Russian active measures are much bigger than just elections.” He has testified that Moscow’s actions are “designed to exacerbate social and political fissures in the United States.

If Progressive Democrats continue to overload our expanding entitlement system, economic chaos will result. Since the 1960’s, their policies have eroded respect for authority in law enforcement, school classrooms, and parenting. As a result, in an economic or other crisis, the civil society could quickly unravel. At that point, you would be glad to still have access to “powder and shot.”

Where do you stand on this “referendum” on socialism and planned gun confiscation? The “Progressive” Social-Democrats are expecting big wins at all levels of government. Do you want a Governor Cuomo S.A.F.E. Act II? This election is not between Democrats and Republicans. It is between those who favor constitutionally-limited government with individual liberties and those who want an increasingly powerful government that grants entitlements paid for with ever larger shares of your income. It would offer few personal liberties and no individual right to self-defense.

Talk to those who see no benefit in voting. Explain what is at stake regardless of their political category. Gun ownership and a desire for individual liberties cross party lines. Stay focused on the preservation of our nation and values when you vote on November 6th and “keep your powder dry.”

By Jeffrey L. Frischkorn Published in New York Outdoor News, Vol 14, No 16 August 10, 2018 Reprinted with permission from Steve Piatt of Outdoor News 

Cleveland – In the political watershed year of 2016 that saw a generally pro-gun Donald Trump elected as president, the United States’ licensed firearms manufacturers expended a lot of energy making new products.

Based upon statistics provided by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), in 2016 licensed gun makers cranked out 11,497,441 new firearms. ATF figures for 2017 are not yet available.

The ATF figures represent the total number of firearms made per gun-type classification, not sales. It’s likely that many of these 2016-made firearms remain in the inventories of wholesalers and retailers, ATF officials said.

Also, ATF figures are for firearms made in the United States, not those imported. Firearms production is defined as being “firearms, including separate frames or receivers, actions of barreled actions, manufactured and disposed of in commerce during the (documented) calendar year,” the ATF’s report states.

In all, based upon the most current data, the United States has more than 11,000 ATF-licensed firearms manufacturers. Every U.S. firearms manufacturer pays a $2150 fee to the ATF for a license, which is good for three years.

ATF lists firearms made on a state-by-state basis, and by type: handguns, rifles, shotguns, and miscellaneous.

In New York, the major manufacturers continued to be Ilionbased Remington, which manufactured 339,507 shotguns and 296,669 rifles in 2016; Kimber, of Yonkers (220,804 pistols, 11,079 shotguns and 2,981 revolvers), and the Norwichbased CZ-USA (9,787 pistols).

Licensed manufacturers ranged from small gun shops that may have produced only a handful of firearms – or even just one – to the big names in the industry, such as Ruger, Remington, Smith & Wesson, O.F. Mossberg and Colt.

In 2015, the total firearms production in the United States topped out at 9,358,661 units. Based on ATF data dating back to 2010, 2016 easily eclipsed any other in volume of firearms produced in the United States, though the number of shotguns made in the U.S. has fallen over the past few years.

ATF statistics showed that for 2016 the number of new semiautomatic pistols made in the U.S. was 4,720,075 units, while the number of revolvers made here was 856,291. In 2010 those statistics were 2,258,450 and 558,927, respectively.

The ATF numbers also showed that for 2016, 9mm pistols ruled the manufacturing roost with some 2.28 million units made in the U.S. It was followed by .380 caliber pistols at 1.13 million units. The manufacturing of .25 caliber pistols actually outstripped that of .32 caliber pistols, though each figure was small: 13,141 units versus 10,175 units, respectively. In the “to .50” caliber statistical branch were 837,535 semiautomatic handguns.

The making of .22 caliber semi-automatic pistols stood at 447,315 units in 2016, its sibling revolver category figure being 320,775 units in 2016. Other noteworthy revolver-making figures for 2016 showed that 248,144 .38 caliber wheel guns were made in the U.S. during 2016, while 182,564 .357 Magnum revolvers were produced, along with 51,451 “up to .44 Magnum” revolvers, and 45,506 “up to .50” caliber revolvers.

About 4.24 million rifles were made in the U.S. during 2016, as well as 848,617 shotguns. (New York Outdoor News Editor Steve Piatt contributed to this story.)  

By Tom Reynolds S.C.O.P.E. Treasurer and Director 

Per SCOPE’s Articles of incorporation, we are dedicated to preserving the Constitution and in particular the Second Amendment. Let’s explore what that means. When any law is proposed, the first question should be: is it constitutional? (The second question is: if it is constitutional, is it good law?) What is the basis on which it should be decided if it is constitutional?

The late Justice Antonin Scalia was an outspoken believer that the words in the Constitution mean what they say and not what judges wish they said. The words have to be interpreted to mean what they meant when the constitution was signed or the amendment was enacted. This is known as “Textualism”. Unfortunately, the Progressive Left believes that only when their interpretations fail should the court reluctantly refer to the actual written words.

Of overriding importance, words need to be taken “In Context”. A sentence may mean one thing when standing alone but quite another when taken in context of the body within which it was written. When interpreting any part of the Constitution, that part does not stand alone and must be interpreted within the intention of the entire document; and that overriding intention was to limit the powers of the Federal Government.“The right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed” must be interpreted in the context of the limited powers of the federal government to infringe on it.

Does that mean that non-federal government bodies, such as the states, can infringe on our rights? The 14th Amendment says, “No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States”. What part of “No state shall…” does the liberal left not understand?

Further enforcing the founders idea of a limited government, several states insisted on a “Bill of Rights” before they would approve the Constitution. (New York was one of those that insisted, which demonstrates how far the SAFE Act has taken NYS from its roots.)The primary authors of the Federalist Papers, James Madison and Alexander Hamilton, believed the Bill of Rights was not necessary since the limited powers of the government would not enable it to take away rights. Happily, those favoring a written Bill of Rights prevailed. Can you imagine today’s gun debate if there were no Second Amendment?

The Constitution was written to stand the test of time. It dealt as much with human/political behavior as it did with the functioning of government. The framers set political ambition and jealousies in opposition to each other by creating three coequal branches of government. The principles embedded in the Bill of Rights transcend time; they are applicable as long as political human nature exists.

The Second Amendment is as central to the Constitution as is the Senate, the Presidency, the Judiciary or the Commerce Clause. Those attacking the Second Amendment are not attacking some adjunct piece of the Constitution, they are attacking the Constitution itself, just as much as if they were conspiring to bypass or eliminate the powers of the Senate.

Presidents, Congress, the Supreme Court all take an oath to defend and support the Constitution of the United States against all enemies and that they will bear true faith and allegiance to the same. Defend means: secure, shield, uphold, guard, preserve, protect. Support means: care for, back, uphold, boost, defend. Per their oaths of office, they are obligated to do the same. This applies to the entire document, not just those parts that they like. Anything less violates their oath of office.

Supreme Court Justice and uber-liberal Sonia Sotomayor wrote in a dissent concerning one of Barack Obama’s overreaches, “The people should not have to wait for Congress to act”. The majority of the Supreme Court felt that the people SHOULD WAIT for Congress to act since that is the way the Constitution requires legal actions to be taken. It also raises the question of how did Sotomayor become the people’s unelected representative? If there is a group that believes the Constitution is outdated and changes are needed, the legal way is by amending the Constitution. It’s been done twenty seven times. Only one of those Amendments took rights away from the people (Eighteen – Prohibition) and that one was the only Amendment ever reversed.

“We the people” are in charge, not unelected judges and we need to take back that power. As Alexander Hamilton said, “Liberty can have nothing to fear from judges who uphold the law. But liberty has everything to fear if judges try to legislate, too.” Justices must not be allowed to usurp the people’s constitutional powers by rewriting laws to align with their personal views. The Constitution is a living document in the sense that its principles live on and are applicable to all generations.  

By Tom Reynolds S.C.O.P.E. Treasurer and Director 

Are you tired of politicians lording over us as our masters and telling us what to do? We can strike back by voting. Angry about Upstate New York’s values, rights and economy being trampled down by New York City politicians? Upstate gun owners, themselves, have the ability to turn that around; all they have to do is vote! When people say they do not have a voice, that’s only because they are not speaking by not voting. Want to say “up yours” to the politicians? Vote!

SCOPE estimates there are 5.5 million gun owners in New York State. The lowest estimates for NYS are 4 million gun owners. There are 19 million people in NY State, so between 1 out of 4 and 1 out of 5 New Yorkers is a gun owner. As New York City makes it very difficult to own a gun, the vast majority of these gun owners are in Upstate New York.

In 2017, there were a total of 2.017 million union workers in New York State verses 5.5 million gun owners. If we could get just one-half of all gun owners to vote, we would be the biggest political force in NY State.

In 2014, there were less than 4 million total votes cast in the governor’s race. Cuomo got 2.1 million votes and his challenger (Astorino) got 1.6 million votes. Since not everyone who voted for Astorino was a gun owner and some gun owners probably voted for Cuomo, it’s reasonable to suggest that only about 1.2 million gun owners voted, or about 1 out of 4 gun owners.

If you want a politician’s attention, one needs to supply money or votes. It costs nothing to vote. Politicians are well aware that gun owners will not vote; one party feels free to attack us and our rights and the other party has shown no overwhelming need to defend us, since neither pays a price in elections.

Some gun owners will say they don’t vote because they don’t like either candidate. I can sympathize with that as I often vote for the lesser-of-two-evils, since one candidate is really awful. But if we want to change that and if we want to start voting for instead of against candidates, we have to first establish a presence and that is only done by voting. Once you are in the system, we can primary the lesser-of-twoevils and get real candidates for whom we want to vote.

The leaders of SCOPE, as well as other 2A organizations, are more than willing to do the heavy lifting. But they need numbers backing them up to give them credibility and those numbers only come from the voting booth. You start taking back your government and saying “up yours” to the political class by voting.

Time is of the essence. If you are not registered to vote, the last day to register is October 12thin order to vote this November. If you are registered then VOTE, YOUR RIGHTS DEPEND ON IT! 

By Charles Kingsley, Three Mile Bay, NY 

Jefferson –Lewis SCOPE (Shooters Committee on Political Education) had been actively seeking a site that would hold 300 or more people. The purpose was to invite the public to meet the candidates from either Democrat or Republican Parties. The venue was to be in Watertown which is a central location for Jefferson County. We have been seeking a well-known establishment during a week day for an evening “Meet and Greet” to no avail. Our Chapter is willing to pay the facilities and has insurance that is required to cover events. There would be no charge to the public to come and hear the candidates discuss their agenda, followed by Q & A. We have contacted several facilities multiple times and have received no response.

This seems indicative of where we are in society and it confirms my assumptions. We want to be politically correct and allow ourselves to be silenced. Are we afraid of being exposed to demonstrations like those at the Kavanaugh Supreme Court committee hearing? Campaign signs are void of party association and missing red or blue. More and more of us are reluctant to put campaign signs in our yards. We refuse to put campaign stickers on our cars for fear of having broken windows or other damage to our car. The worst embarrassment is, only 30% of us get out and vote. We are blessed in the United States of America with many privileges and we don’t even have to blacken our finger with indelible ink to vote.

We can only blame ourselves for letting the process get out of control. We cater to a small minority of those who are disruptive and who fail to contribute meaningful ideas. We tolerate vulgar language by the opposition, rude vocal outbursts, and in many cases violence against us for voicing dissenting viewpoints. Facilities are fearful of controversy and acrimony. We don’t like these facts or the situation but shamefully the tactics of certain political forces are working. They are working because our candidates are reluctant to even attend a town hall meeting. The public will soon withdraw completely from the process. Increasingly worse voter turnout, engagement, and election results will be the proof that the politically correct environment has destroyed public discourse.

By Jack Prendergast, Yates County Chairman and SCOPE 2nd VP  

The easiest way to lose your independence is not to vote. Your vote counts. Don’t let anyone tell you differently. For 16 years, the Yates County SCOPE organization has been active in the mission of SCOPE standing in defense of the 2nd Amendment of the Constitution. Along with this comes the obligation to reach out to the public and educate them on the value of this Keystone Amendment.

To accomplish our task, we undertake two separate events that allow SCOPE to headline to the public our goal of education. We work to present the face of New York SCOPE to the community of Yates County. In this endeavor we hold, in August, a Pig Roast for SCOPE that invites in citizens that want to represent us in political office to meet Yates County residents. In October, we hold a Judges night where we have candidates that are running for the Supreme Court of New York, 7th Judicial District to come to Yates County and sell themselves to the voting public.

The August Yates County SCOPE Pig Roast is the largest county wide event for political candidates to come face to face with the public. We invite all candidates, all parties, to come mingle, interact and speak to their constituents. On August 25th of this year, we held our 16th Annual Pig Roast. Running in this year’s election we invited the US Senate, US Congressional, NY Gubernatorial, NY Senate and NY Assembly Candidates to our event. Each individual got a chance to speak to the Audience and mingle with the same. Also invited to the event were candidates for the NY State Supreme Court 7th Judicial District. We do not stop with the Federal and State positions that are up for contest. At our event we also carve out time for all County and Town candidates running for office to speak as well.

The invitation to speak is made well in advance of our event such that the candidates will have a chance to limit any conflicts in their travel as they move around the state, county etc.

On October 4th of this year Yates County SCOPE once again invites the public to attend our Judges Night event held at the Elks Club in Penn Yan, NY. At this event we concentrate on inviting the candidates that will be running for the Supreme Court in the 7th Judicial District. This event has always been well attended and once again, SCOPE opens this event to the public.

Education of the electorate is important. The voter must hear all points of view of candidates if they are to become informed. Yates County SCOPE will continue to do our part in bringing all candidates, all parties to the voting public for examination of the issues facing our towns, county, state and country. It’s what we do.  

By Tom Reynolds S.C.O.P.E. Treasurer and Director 

“…[T]hey know not what they do” was uttered two thousand years ago and it referred to a political establishment that did not understand the consequences of their actions. Unfortunately, most of America’s political establishment has no idea about the consequences of their current actions.

Every four years our President can change and many in the media will hypocritically mention how important – and somewhat rare- it is for a country to have a peaceful transition in leadership. We pride ourselves on following the Constitution and not being a “Banana Republic”. Unfortunately the media seems intent on making us into that “Banana Republic”.

Through the two hundred and twenty nine years of our nation’s history, only one serious attempt was made to overthrow the Constitution: it was called the Civil War and 620,000 soldiers and an unknown number of civilians died in it. Now, seven score and thirteen years after the Civil war ended, we face another attempt to overthrow the government. The Washington DC establishment wants to do away with the people’s right to elect our leader, the President of the United States, and they are working tirelessly to bring that about. Most of the political establishment are willing to tear down the Constitution that they swore an oath to uphold in what they believe will be a bloodless coup d'état. They probably anticipate that Americans will sit quietly and go along with it.

Our founding fathers warned about a too powerful government and they set up constitutional barriers to prevent that. But those barriers started falling in the twentieth century and government bureaucrats (the Department of Justice and the I.R.S. for example, but not exclusively) now act with impunity to use their bureaucratic powers against American citizens, which now includes using them against the President of the United States. The founding fathers also set up another Constitutional barrier to government overreach; the Second Amendment.

What if the political elite succeeded? What if they overthrow the duly elected leader of the country, the person that “We the people” voted into office? What are the unintended consequences of this coup that most – but not all - of the left do not foresee?

Without question, that would further empower them to overthrow any future Presidents who the Washington D.C. political establishment doesn’t like.

There are an estimated 80 million gun owners with 250 million guns in the United States. What if only ten percent of them are unwilling to go along with the loss of their constitutional right to elect their president? That’s 8 million gun owners with 25 million guns! Most revolutions start with considerably less.

Does the political establishment believe the military and police will side with them? If they read history they would know that, during the Civil War, the great generals of the South had been Union officers before the war began.

I inferred that most, “…know not what they do” and that most do not understand the unintended consequences of their actions. However, I believe there are some who not only understand the consequences of a coup, the confusion that would follow and the possibility of a second Civil War but they embrace it. Since they want to, “Fundamentally change the United States”, there is nothing like total destruction to bring about fundamental change.

I write this not as a threat but as a warning that the primary reason that guns are protected by the Second Amendment is to protect us from tyranny, both foreign and domestic. This would explain why so many in the political establishment would like to see the Second Amendment repealed.

We have seen our Constitution and the vision of our founding fathers greatly eroded in the past century. I truly believe most of the far left have never given a thought to the unintended consequences that I highlighted. They are treading on very dangerous grounds. The Constitution and the vision of our founding fathers has been our strength for over two centuries and led our nation to a pinnacle of success unmatched in history. But our position is fragile and our country must regain its constitutional common sense.

There was a pre-political correctness saying, “I may disagree with what you say but I will defend to the death your right to say it”. Perhaps the Washington D.C. establishment should take heed that while it may disagree with the President, he was duly elected under the Constitution.  

By Budd Schroeder S.C.O.P.E. At-Large Director, Chairman Emeritus  

There is a real problem in New York. We have a huge scandal that involves Governor Andrew Cuomo and several of his close friends and contributors in what is an overload of corruption. New York has a national reputation for being very high on the list of corrupt governments. The “Three Men in a Room” has long been criticized, but never corrected.

Two of the three, Sheldon Silver and Dean Skelos have been convicted, but still are not in prison. Power and money can do marvelous things when abused by talented abusers. However, Andrew Cuomo was the third man in the room and he has not been indicted. There have been calls to have him indicted, but the power and money aspect seem to be working there, too.

However, since Cuomo has more than $30 million in his campaign war chest and many huge donations have been connected to lucrative state contracts, it may come to pass that some Attorney General would be interested in having an investigation. Probably would happen if the governor was a Republican.

As it stands, in politics perception can have the same effect as facts, and this could influence the election. However, there must be an alternative in the race to make it possible. Fortunately, there is a viable alternative candidate on the Republican and Conservative lines to make the change possible.

That candidate is Marc Molinaro who is like a breath of fresh air in a cheese factory. He is a fresh face with fresh ideas that are workable and reasonable. His problem is that, compared to Cuomo, he is underfunded and money is important. As a campaigner, he is outstanding, very likable and has a good program filled with possibilities rather than promises. At a recent campaign stop he spoke of the connections of his opponent to the size of his campaign funds and the timing of the lucrative contracts given to donors. Simple path relating cause to effect!

Marc Molinaro speaks to his audience with unusual sincerity for a politician. He does not tell them what he thinks they want to hear. Instead he presents the problems and his intention to solve them. His solutions make sense. Especially in the financial problems of New York! The expected deficit in the Cuomo budget for next year is more than $14 billion.

He talks about the tax suckers of state unfunded mandates which is a major problem regarding property taxes. Also, there is much waste and inefficiency in the bureaucracy that can be trimmed. He wants to give the tax breaks to small businesses that are the backbone of the country rather than the large corporations who get huge breaks and incentives. The current scandals involve some big businesses who promised thousands of jobs but haven’t even come close. Calling it “a drop in the bucket’’ would be a huge exaggeration of numbers.

The choice should be easy for the voters. As the campaign progresses, there will be the opportunity to make their decision on who will be the next governor. Shall we continue with corrupt and expensive government, or shall we elect someone who will stop the corruption and going deeper in debt?

This is a very important decision. Choose wisely, and vote.  

By Tim Andrews, S.C.O.P.E. President 

This will be the last edition of Firing Lines before the November 6th elections. The focus now is the November vote. The next edition of Firing Lines, following the November elections, will focus on the election results and their impact on the 2019 legislative agenda. Our success or failure in the 2019 legislative session will hinge significantly on our success or failure in the November elections. As I’ve mentioned on numerous occasions, it is not overstated to say this is the most important election in generations for New York’s gun owners.

In many ways this has been a controversial and sometimes contentious year, especially when it comes to the governor’s race. I won’t waste time and space writing about Cuomo. After eight long years, we all know what we have there and what needs to be done. I’m going to focus on the Republican side and start by telling you about a conversation I recently had with Julie Killian who is the candidate for Lieutenant Governor running with Marc Molinaro.

You may remember the controversy surrounding the choice of Ms. Killian for the second spot on the GOP ticket. In a recent campaign for a State Senate seat, she came out and expressed support for the SAFE Act. Obviously, this was an enormous concern for us, and in a phone conversation with Marc Molinaro following the choice of Killian, I expressed our concerns and asked him to reconsider and remove Killian from the ticket. Although Molinaro didn’t say this, most around the state believe this was a state party decision and not Molinaro’s. In any case Killian was kept on the ticket.

About my conversation with Killian, I met Ms. Killian at the SCOPE Yates County ‘Meet the Candidates Pig Roast’ in Penn Yan recently. We had a very frank discussion and she was very open about her history as it pertained to firearms and firearms issues. She essentially had little exposure to firearms either growing up or as an adult. She explained she knew little more than what she heard in the liberal media and that was the extent of her exposure. After being chosen to run for Lieutenant Governor she became very aware of the criticisms. Her reaction to the criticism was to study the issue and gain a better understanding of the Second Amendment and particularly Cuomo’s unSAFE Act.

During my time with her I went into SCOPE’s position and concerns with the various segments of the Act, and the extremely negative impact on law-abiding gun owners while having no impact on criminals. She was extremely open to the discussion and I certainly came away with the view she has evolved on the issue of guns and the Second Amendment. I specifically asked her if it was fair to say that her position on guns and the unSAFE Act have evolved and her answer was a resounding “yes.” She is absolutely in favor of doing whatever is necessary to repeal the unSAFE Act.

Now, I get that we all have a skeptical side to us that questions these ‘death bed’ conversions. I think it’s wise to maintain a bit of skepticism when it comes to whatever any politician tells us. Nonetheless we shouldn’t discount a politician who acknowledges a change of heart. We should applaud that politician for their willingness to approach a subject with an open mind and consider that maybe their position may be misguided or wrong. After all, one of SCOPE’s most important functions is to reach out to politicians and educate and that’s exactly what we’ve done here. This is a SCOPE success story, if the Molinaro/Killian ticket is elected we will have two friends in the executive branch of government in Albany.

One comment on Marc Molinaro: It needs to be stated that there is one candidate for governor who has a totally unblemished documented record when it come supporting the gun rights of New Yorkers, and it is Marc Molinaro. It would literally be a tragedy if gun owners do not get out the vote and support Marc this November. It would truly be a lost opportunity, and quite possibly, one we may not recover from for generations.

On the legislative side of things, the Assembly as you know is a freedom-loving gun owners’ nightmare. The Democrats hold a two-to-one advantage there and it’s not likely to change. That said, please support those Assembly candidates who do support the Second Amendment as they have a tough job and we do need their voice in the Assembly.

On the Senate side there’s been a small group of somewhat moderate Democrats who have helped the Republicans maintain a very tenuous majority. Six of those Democrats lost their primaries and now it’s become more important than ever to elect pro-Second Amendment candidates to the State Senate. During this past legislative year, the New York Senate has been the firewall that has stopped Cuomo’s anti-Second Amendment agenda. We need to keep it that way.

This is it. All hands-on deck. This is your chance to let your voice be heard. Cuomo is very vulnerable. He can be defeated. There is a pathway to victory for Marc Molinaro, but it starts with all of us. Let’s make it happen!