Hawley says 1,050 local residents signed petition opposing SAFE Act

Tells Cuomo that law ‘trampled’ gun owners’ rights

ALBANY – More than 1,000 local residents have signed a petition in past 2 ½ months opposing new state gun control legislation, State Assemblyman Steve Hawley said today.

He advised Gov. Andrew Cuomo that 1,050 people signed the petition. Hawley asked the governor to re-examine the process for enacting the law and allow his constituents to make their voices heard.

The county governing bodies for nearly all upstate counties, including Orleans, have formally gone on the record opposing the SAFE Act. Orleans has asked the governor and state Legislature to repeal it.

Hawley and many of the county governments say Cuomo and the majority of the Legislature rushed the law into passage in January without feedback from the public.

Many of the provisions of the law are confusing and open to interpretation, Orleans legislators said. The group in February also criticized the law for prohibiting firearm magazines with more than seven rounds, when most magazines have 10 rounds. Gun owners will have to acquire new magazines or alter their existing ones.

Hawley is critical of the way the law was approved without input from New York residents.

“Their voices were not heard during the hurried passage of this law,” he said. “They deserved to be heard then and they deserve to be heard now. I urge you to repeal this law and come to the table, not only with members of the legislature, but with law enforcement officials, mental health professionals and, most importantly, the concerned citizens of our community who have the most at stake when it comes to the laws of our state.”

Hawley sent a letter to the governor today, telling him the SAFE Act did not protect the safety of New York families, but instead “trampled” the Second Amendment rights of New Yorkers.