Residents can sign SAFE Act petition at fair

Photo by Tom Rivers – State Sen. George Maziarz speaks at the opening ceremonies for the Orleans County 4-H Fair on Monday. He encouraged residents to sign a petition urging the governor and State Legislature to repeal the SAFE Act.

KNOWLESVILLE – Visitors to the Orleans County 4-H Fair can sign a petition this week to repeal the NY-SAFE Act, legislation that has been roundly criticized by many legislative bodies in upstate New York.

The petition at the fair is sponsored by Sen. George D. Maziarz. Residents can sign it at the Orleans County Republican Party booth located in the Lartz Commercial Exhibit Building.

“The NY-SAFE Act, which I opposed, trampled on many of the rights that responsible gun owners hold dear,” Maziarz said in a statement. “I continue to try to build public support for overturning the law.”

State Assemblyman Steve Hawley, R-Batavia, has already turned in a petition to the state signed by more than 1,000 local residents.

Hawley has asked Gov. Andrew Cuomo to re-examine the process for enacting the law and allow his constituents to make their voices heard. 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law are confusing and open to interpretation, Orleans County legislators said in a resolution asking for the law to be repealed. The county Legislature also has criticized the law for prohibiting firearm magazines with more than seven rounds, when most magazines have 10 rounds.

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 has said.

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