ALBANY – Assemblyman Clifford W. Crouch (R-Bainbridge) joined his colleagues in unveiling a SAFE Act repeal on Thursday, Feb. 23, to potentially take effect in upstate New York on the grounds that there is a ‘cultural difference’ between upstate and downstate.

“The NY SAFE Act does not protect our families and our communities as it says it does,” said Crouch in a statement released yesterday, March 1. “It is a controversial law drafted by New York City politicians that infringes on the rights of law-abiding firearm owners by treating them as criminals, and it does nothing to actually address the violence that is committed by people with illegal firearms across the state.”

Consequently, the Assembly has crafted Assembly Bill 6140, which aims to limit the application of the SAFE Act to the counties of Kings, Queens, Richmond, New York, and the Bronx.

The justification of Assembly Bill 6140 states, “As the recent minimum wage agreement pointed out, the diversity of New York State demands that laws are tailored to accommodate each region. There are some areas of the state–especially in our upstate rural areas and suburban–where it is not practical to keep firearms out of the hands of homeowners who would have to wait extended periods for law enforcement to arrive at their home for protection.”