NORWICH – The hotly-contested New York State Secure Ammunition and Firearms Enforcement (SAFE) Act was bought center stage at the county’s Safety and Rules Committee last week, beginning what may be an official stance of Chenango County government against the new legislation signed into law in January.
Sheriff Ernest Cutting met with the committee Wednesday to present a response to the NY SAFE Act on behalf of the New York State Sheriff’s Association. According to the association, Cutting said there are some positive aspects of the law, including stricter felony charges for the killing of emergency first responders (the result of gun fire on firefighters in Webster in December), a more comprehensive review of mental health records before firearm permits are issued, and the requirement that guns be safely stored if the owner lives with someone who has been convicted of a felony or a domestic violence crime.
But while there are bright spots in the SAFE Act, said Cutting, he claimed the law overall is “too broad” for him to fully support. The Sheriff’s Association outlined several objectionable facets of the law, such as increased penalties for illegal use of weapons (citing that revisions are needed for sheriffs to understand and properly enforce the law in their counties), and the assault weapon ban based on the law’s new definition of “assault weapon.”
“We believe that the new definition of assault weapons is too broad, and prevents the possession of many weapons that are legitimately used for hunting, target shooting and self defense,” says the statement from the Sheriff’s Association.
Moreover, Cutting noted that new restrictions of ammunition sold in the state “will not reduce gun violence.” Under the legislation, New York will have the strongest ban on high-capacity magazines in the country, with a limit on capacity of seven rounds, down from the current limit of ten. “A lot of weapons in people’s homes today fall within the capacity that they are illegal,” said Cutting, “and the criminals aren’t going to care that their weapons exceed that limit ... Our feeling is that (the law) is just going to drive sales of ammunition out of state.”
Cutting also noted there are no clear exemptions for law enforcement in the legislation. According to the Sheriff’s Association, the law must be clarified so that there’s no confusion as to whether existing law enforcement exemptions apply to the new legislation. “We understand that the governor and legislature have already agreed to review and modify these provision where necessary, and the Sheriffs want to be part of the discussion to make the changes effective,” the statement reads.
Finally, Cutting said the speedy rate at which state legislators adopted the SAFE Act did not present both sides of the argument. The Sheriff’s Association maintains that any legislation that tests the boundaries of a constitutional right should be done “with caution and with great respect for those constitutional boundaries.”
Having heard Cutting on some of the issues surrounding the SAFE Act, committee members unanimously agreed that an official resolution opposing the NY SAFE Act should go before the county Board of Supervisor’s at the March meeting, per Cutting’s request.
“There are some things that we do support,” Cutting told committee members, though cautious to say how some of the provisions of the SAFE Act could be enforced. The legislation establishes tougher penalties for those who use illegal guns as well as measures to help combat gang violence. “It imposes a lot of unfunded mandates ... We don’t have the resources in this county to conduct a lot of the things required in the SAFE Act,” he added.
For the entire New York State Sheriff’s Association response to the NY SAFE Act, visit www.nysheriffs.org.