Orleans won’t let county seal be used in SAFE Act enforcement

ALBION – Orleans County won’t let the State of New York use the county seal for any enforcement efforts with the SAFE Act, a controversial gun control measure approved by the State Legislature and Gov. Andrew Cuomo last January.

State officials want to use county seals with the state seal on pistol recertification notices. Orleans doesn’t want its seal associated with the SAFE Act.

The county also doesn’t want to devote its resources, whether law enforcement or at the county clerks’ office, to enforcing and processing the SAFE Act.

“They should be responsible for all the costs and enforcement,” County Clerk Karen Lake-Maynard said about the state.

The County Legislature passed a resolution on Wednesday, joining many other counties around the state, in opposing use of the county seal on pistol permit notices.

The legislators said that enforcement of the SAFE Act also should not be a burden of the local police agencies.

“The enforcement is clearly the responsibility of the state police,” said Legislator Lynne Johnson, R-Lyndonville.

The Legislature was praised by Mattie Zarpentine of Holley, who is the Western New York coordinator for New York Revolution, an organization that formed after the SAFE Act was passed. The group is a Second Amendment rights supporter and has been protesting the SAFE Act.

Zarpentine urged the Legislature to continue to oppose the legislation and work for its repeal.