PA Bill Number: SB1198
Title: In plants and plant products, providing for plant and pollinator protection; conferring powers and duties on the Department of Agriculture and ...
Description: In plants and plant products, providing for plant and pollinator protection; conferring powers and duties on the Department of Agriculture and .. ...
Last Action: Referred to AGRICULTURE AND RURAL AFFAIRS
Last Action Date: May 17, 2024
Congressman seeks to void (NY) SAFE Act with new federal bill :: 07/31/2017
ALBANY — A Western New York congressman is targeting the SAFE Act with a bill of his own that he says would effectively repeal the controversial gun-control law.
Rep. Chris Collins, R-NY., nominates Donald Trump as the Republican candidate for President during the second day of the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Tuesday, July 19, 2016. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
U.S. Rep. Chris Collins, R-Erie County, on Monday unveiled his Second Amendment Guarantee Act, which would limit a state's authority to regulate the design, manufacture, sale or possession of a rifle or shotgun. The bill does not cover handguns.
The SAFE Act, passed in January 2013 following the Newtown school shooting in Connecticut, is both a legacy-defining policy for Gov. Andrew Cuomo and a political platform that Republicans have used to assail Democrats and pro-gun control advocates.
Critics view the SAFE Act as outlawing firearms that offer features that under law make a gun assault-style. The bill similarly has been maligned for limiting the number of rounds that can be loaded into a gun.
The law also has created additional work for many county clerks this year as a January deadline nears for pistol permits to be re-certified.
State lawmakers have made their own repeal attempts to no avail.
Collins' bill would bar states from imposing regulations stricter than federal law "with respect to the design, manufacture, importation, sale, transfer, possession, or marking of a rifle or shotgun" that is subject to interstate or foreign commerce. The legislation also would prohibit the imposition of any penalties or fees greater than what is set in federal statute with respect to a rifle or shotgun. The legislation contains a clause that would nullify any state or local law violating its provisions that was enacted before, on or after the date when the federal bill becomes law.
Under the measure, a rifle or shotgun would be defined to include any part of a rifle or shotgun, any detachable magazine or ammunition-feeding device and any type of pistol grip or stock design.
"This legislation would protect the Second Amendment rights of New Yorkers that were unjustly taken away by Andrew Cuomo," Collins said.
Cuomo called the Collins bill a "blatant political ploy."
"Chris Collins is turning his back on New Yorkers and putting millions of people at profound risk," he said. "By fighting to roll back vital legislation that protects the people of the Empire State, Collins is demonstrating once again that he is beholden to no one but the gun lobby and entrenched special interests."
A spokesman for U.S. Rep. John Faso, R-Kinderhook, said their office would review the legislation.
A spokesman for U.S. Rep. Paul Tonko, D-Amsterdam, said the congressman has been too focused on other issues "to notice this partisan messaging bill, introduced on the Friday before we left for August work period with no co-sponsors."
"Generally speaking, Congressman Tonko has been an outspoken advocate for sensible federal legislation that requires background checks and keeps guns out of the hands of people deemed too dangerous to let on an airplane," Matt Sonneborn, the spokesman, said.
Tom Flanagin, spokesman for U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-Essex County, said the congresswoman would review the bill. He added that she does not support the SAFE Act.
Collins drew attention earlier this year when he said he would begin carrying a gun in his western New York district following a shooting at a practice for a charity congressional baseball game in Virginia.
It's not the first time that Collins has targeted state policies this year. He and Faso have sponsored legislation that would require the state to assume Medicaid costs that are currently paid by the counties, an estimated $2.3 billion hit to the state budget.
Cuomo and state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman contend that proposal, which until recently was attached to various iterations of health-care legislation considered by Congress, infringes upon state sovereignty because it applies only to New York. As such, they have threatened to sue if the cost-shifting becomes federal law.
Because Collins' gun bill doesn't appear to include New York-specific language, it's unclear if state officials would be able to make the same charge.
Schneiderman spokeswoman Amy Spitalnick defended the SAFE Act, saying the state's "assault weapons ban keeps New Yorkers safe, not only because it gives prosecutors the tools to crack down on those who fuel the gun violence epidemic – but also because it helps keep dangerous assault weapons out of the wrong hands in the first place."
In his statement, Cuomo said courts have upheld the SAFE Act as consistent with the Constitution.
According to Spectrum News, Collins said at a press conference that while the bill is specific to New York, it deals with a national issue.
