County legislators oppose state law banning concealed carry in some public spaces

ALBION – Orleans County legislators on Wednesday went on the record opposing new gun legislation adopted by the State Legislature and signed by Gov. Kathy Hochul on July 1.

Hochul and the Legislature banned guns from many public places. The state identified “sensitive places” where guns shouldn’t be allowed. Those crowded public places include bars, theaters, stadiums, museums, casinos, polling places, parks, churches, educational facilities and mass transit.

County legislator Don Allport, R-Gaines, said criminals will ignore any gun control laws. He said there are 40,000 gun control laws on the books, and those laws don’t stop robberies and murders.

“These laws only hurt law-abiding citizens,” he said during Wednesday’s Legislature meeting.

Legislature Chairwoman Lynne Johnson, R-Lyndonville, said Orleans is the second county to formally oppose the state legislation from last month.

“I’m really proud we are able to do that,” she said about the vote.

She said some businesses can post signs whether or not they allow concealed carry for guns. The ones that proclaim no guns allowed in signage baffle Johnson.

“Now the bad guys know where the guns are,” she said about the postings at businesses. “Does that make any sense?”

Legislators in the resolution said banning concealed carry in public is an “unconstitutional attack upon the rights of law-abiding citizens.”

The state legislation makes obtaining and retaining a concealed carry gun permit “an overly involved lengthy burdensome process, requiring citizens to divulge their social media accounts,” county legislators state din the resolution.

The local Legislature said the state legislation “is the result of a knee-jerk, unvetted and political reaction to the recent Supreme Court decision, New York State Rifle and Pistol Association, Inc., v. Bruen, and was surreptitiously rushed through legislature without public discussion, input or knowledge.”