NY Political News

[Steve D]

U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., kicked off what will be a string of town hall meetings across the state Friday at Monroe Community College.

3. Taking aim at the NRA

Midway through the stream of questions Gillibrand received one from the mother of two MCC students centering around gun control and how children are now being drilled on how to deal with live shooters.

After briefly pondering the emotional question, Gillibrand cited the NRA's lack of compassion and not having the majority in Congress as roadblocks to reform. "The NRA is funded by the gun manufacturers. They don't care about protecting your kids, they don't care about that 17-year-olds can buy automatic weapons at Walmart. They oppose all common sense gun reforms."

"The reforms I think we can pass if we get a new Congress, is that I think we can get to universal background checks. I think we can ban assault weapons and ban large magazines. These are military weapons and our military is highly trained to fire these weapons. There's no reason they should be available to the public."

However, Gillibrand closed out her answer with a strong response to gun trafficking and suggested a much harsher punishment for those found guilty. "In New York state about 90 percent of the guns used in crime are trafficked from out of state. Most of those weapons are illegal and they don't go to a gun store or they don't go to Walmart.

"They get sold off the back of a truck to a gang member. We should at least be able to pass an anti-trafficking bill that makes it a federal crime and holds kingpins accountable with serious sentences."

[Steve D]

Cuomo, lawmakers urge Senate to block Kavanaugh over guns        

NEW YORK (AP) — Members of the Congressional Black Caucus have joined New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo in calling on the U.S. Senate to reject Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh because of his expansive interpretation of gun rights and the Second Amendment.

Cuomo, a Democrat, said Saturday that Kavanaugh's past opinions show that he believes it is a constitutional right to carry "even the most dangerous assault weapons."

Rep. Gregory Meeks, a New York Democrat, called Kavanaugh's nomination "a grave threat to reasonable gun control measures enacted by states."

Meeks and other lawmakers joined Cuomo at a Manhattan news conference to urge the Senate to block Kavanaugh's nomination.

Kavanagh has taken stands favoring broad gun rights in his current job as a judge on the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals.

[Steve D]

Cuomo's fifth trip to Puerto Rico:

On Monday July 23, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo will be leading a "NY Stands with Puerto Rico Recovery and Rebuilding Initiative" trip to support ongoing recovery efforts on the island. The delegation includes SUNY and CUNY Presidents and students, nonprofit partners, labor leaders and elected officials. Members of the delegation will participate in rebuilding efforts in the Northern and Central regions of the island as well as the San Juan Metro Area and will return in the evening of Tuesday, July 24. This is Governor Cuomo's fifth trip to Puerto Rico since Hurricane Maria.

"The federal government's incompetent and inhumane failure to respond to the crisis in Puerto Rico has been a national disgrace," Governor Cuomo said. "While the federal government turns its back on Puerto Rico, New Yorkers have stood with our brothers and sisters in Puerto Rico since day one of this tragedy, and we will continue to stand with them until the job is done. I look forward to leading this delegation to Puerto Rico to support our ongoing recovery efforts as we help the island rebuild better than ever before. Puerto Rico still faces a long road to recovery, and New York will walk with them every step of the way."