Following the lead from the Board of Supervisors, the Towns of Sharon, Richmondville, and Gilboa all passed resolutions opposing “New York State Action Restricting Second Amendment Rights” Wednesday.
The resolutions are nearly identical to the one offered by Supervisors’ chair Bill Federice and approved unanimously at the October 21 Board of Supervisors meeting.
Mr. Federice said that he’d based his resolution on those from other counties, including Sullivan, Seneca, and Niagara and urged supervisors to pass a version of the gun rights legislation in their own towns.
The resolutions all criticize changes in New York State law enacted after a June Supreme Court decision on concealed weapons.
Specifically, they criticize changes in state law that make it a felony for those with valid carry permits to bring a handgun into a state park, church, or restaurant.
On October 12, a State Appellate Court judge issued a “stay” on a decision that would have stopped enforcement of some parts of the Concealed Carry Improvement Act until it can be reviewed by a three-judge panel, keeping the full CCIA in place until the panel acts.
The text of the Board of Supervisors’ resolution—the towns inserted their own names where it says “Schoharie County,” and adapted the last paragraph, replacing “New York State Association of Counties” with “New York State Association of Towns,” or eliminated that reference entirely—follows:
WHEREAS Schoharie County has a long and proud tradition of staunchly supporting the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution, and
WHEREAS Schoharie County residents and visitors have demonstrated a long history of safe and lawful firearm ownership, and
WHEREAS Governor Hochul recently signed New York State legislation (S.51001 and A. 41001) which makes obtaining and retaining a concealed carry gun permit, an overly lengthy, burdensome, and expensive process which includes requiring citizens to divulge their personal social media accounts absent limitations of search and privacy, and
WHEREAS among the most onerous provisions is that the right to carry and possess a firearm is now a felony for any individual who has a valid concealed carry permit to bring a handgun into any New York State Park, house of worship, and restaurants, where residents, businesses and municipalities operate, live, work, socialize, worship, and
WHEREAS all elected officials in New York State, including Governor Hochul, take an oath of office to uphold the constitution and that this recent legislation will prove to be a flagrant violation of our constitutional rights which seeks to disarm our residents, and
WHEREAS the Schoharie County Board of Supervisors considers this law to be an unconstitutional infringement of the Second Amendment right for law abiding citizens to bear arms, an overt infringement on freedom and liberty in New York State; devoid of common sense while doing nothing to alleviate the problem of crime and illegal firearms, and
RESOLVED that the Schoharie County Board of Supervisors opposes conceal carry law (S.51001/A41001) as being unduly burdensome to those individuals lawfully eligible to possess and carry a concealed firearm and as such calls upon the New York State Legislature to repeal (S.51001/A41001) as contrary to the constitutionally protected right to keep and bear arms, and
FURTHER RESOLVED that the Schoharie County Board of Supervisors calls upon all other municipalities and counties in New York State, and the American Civil Liberties Union, the American Center for Law and Justice; and all advocates who claim to protect freedom and liberty in the United States to immediately challenge this law in court as it is clearly unconstitutional, and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors shall forward copies of this resolution to Governor Hochul, State Senator Peter Oberacker, Assemblyman Chris Tague, all county governments in New York State, and the New York State Association of Counties.