Statement from Assemblyman Steve McLaughlin (R,C,I-Melrose)
Moscow would be proud of our state Legislature and Executive Chamber, but every New Yorker should be outraged. It is a fact that the Governor used a politically expedient tactic and abused his 'message of necessity' power to jam an extremely flawed and error-riddled bill into law. This bill will do nothing to make New York safer, while doing much to endanger the safety of law-abiding citizens. Criminals, as they always do, will ignore this law.
This bill was a rushed, knee-jerk reaction in an effort to gain national attention in the wake of tragedies in Newtown and Webster and capitalize on an emotional public not fully prepared to address the real problem: control. This was not about guns. It was about control. This Governor and state Legislature are ill-advised to be taking a victory lap while mental health issues, prescription drug abuse and the role of anti-depressants in these mass shootings, which should have been the true substance of the bill, went so poorly addressed.
I’m disappointed in the Governor and the Legislature for cynically and callously standing on the graves of the victims of Newtown and Webster and using their deaths to advance a flawed piece of legislation that had zero public, technical, scientific, expert or legislative input. This bill is far from being "best.” Turning law abiding citizens into criminals is nothing to be proud of.
No one in the Assembly Chamber, the Senate Chamber or on ANY floor of the Capitol is worthy of shining the boots of our founding fathers, yet they arrogantly think they can trample on the Constitution. This bill is an all-out attack on the Constitutional rights of American citizens.
