Opposition to (A6762/S7196) ‘firearms liability law’ and other related ‘gun control’ laws

WHEREAS, Members of the Wyoming County Board of Supervisors, being elected to represent the people of the sixteen towns of Wyoming County, are duly sworn by their oath of office to uphold the Constitution of the and the State Constitution and laws, including New York State Civil Rights law; and

WHEREAS, The Wyoming County Board of Supervisors in January of 2019 unanimously passed, by all present, a resolution entitled ‘OPPOSING INFRINGEMENTS ON THE RIGHTS OF LEGITIMATE FIREARM OWNERS’; and

WHEREAS, The ‘Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act of 2005’ enacted by the 109th United States Congress, clearly and effectively afforded reasonable liability protections on lawfully manufactured and distributed firearms in the event that those firearms were used in a criminal manner; and

WHEREAS, The political environment in New York State and legislative initiatives such as ‘Raise the Age’ and ‘Bail Reform’ along with questionable decisions of the state parole board have severely hampered the abilities of law enforcement, prosecutor’s, courts and the correctional facilities’ to address the source of criminal activity and protect public safety; and

WHEREAS, The New York State legislature has a history of enacting so called gun control legislation that does little to address or affect actual violent criminal activity; and

WHEREAS, The societal scourge of gun violence is typically concentrated in urban communities that currently have the most strict gun control measures in place; and

WHEREAS, The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives database shows that 17 individuals and/or businesses hold a Federal Firearms License within Wyoming County; and

WHEREAS, The text of the legislation (A6762/S7196) recently chaptered into law by Governor Cuomo defines a ‘Gun industry member’ as a person, firm, corporation, company, partnership, society, joint stock company or any other agency or association engaged in the sale, manufacturing, distribution, importing or marketing of firearms, ammunition, ammunition magazines, and firearm accessories; and

WHEREAS, The vast majority residents of Wyoming County understand and practice safe, responsible and legal use of firearms for sporting and self-defense purposes; and,

WHEREAS, The real world effect of (A6762/S7196) on legitimate firearm and ammo purchases will be felt locally in the form of potential business closures, job loss, reduced revenue, damage to the sporting economy and dramatically increased costs to our residents; and

WHEREAS, Misguided laws only impact those who wish to remain lawful and have no effect on societal predators who are the source of violent criminal activity; now therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED, That the Wyoming County Board of Supervisors stands in strong opposition to the enactment of laws that place unreasonable liability exposure on the backs of legitimate manufacturers or ‘gun industry members’ as defined in legislation such as A6762/S7196; and be it

FURTHER RESOLVED, That the Wyoming County Board of Supervisors considers such laws to be egregious and beyond lawful legislative authority granted to our State representatives and a flagrant infringement of our resident’s Constitution rights; and be it

FURTHER RESOLVED, That a copy of this resolution be sent to President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, Governor , United States Senators Charles Schumer, and , Congressman Chris Jacobs, NYS Senator Patrick Gallivan, NYS Assemblyman David DiPietro, NYS Assembly Majority Leader Crystal D. Peoples-Stokes, NYS Assembly Minority Leader William A. Barclay, NYS Assembly Speaker Carl E. Heastie, NYS Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, NYS Senate Minority Leader Rob Ortt