UPDATE: The Bethlehem Town Board is no longer proposing to pass a resolution in favor of the SAFE Act at the local level. `We received some e-mails and calls from residents on both sides of the issue,` said Supervisor John Clarkson. `We now feel the topic might detract from town business and we, as town officials, are elected to oversee issues within the Town of Bethlehem.` To view the letter submitted by Supervisor Clarkson, as well as Town Board members Jeffrey Kuhn, Bill Reinhardt and Kyle Kotary click here.
The fierce debate over New York’s new gun law ended up being fought on the local level at a Wednesday, Feb. 27, Bethlehem Town Board meeting, after Councilman Jeffrey Kuhn suggested the board pass a resolution in support of the restrictions.
The resolution to support the SAFE Act was brought up during the new business portion of the meeting and was not on the meeting’s agenda. It was discussed at length without being passed, though it is likely the board will take up the subject again.
During the public comment portion of the meeting, resident Linda Jasinski first stood to ask if the town would pass a resolution that stated the town was against the new gun law, “if for no other reason than the way it had been passed.”
Jasinski said the Town Board has made a great effort to practice open and transparent government, but as of late the state legislature has not.
“In the middle of the night, with a message of necessity, they passed a law that comes very close to infringing on people’s Second Amendment rights, if it doesn’t infringe on them,” she said.
Jasinski told the board about 20 other towns and about 30 counties had already passed similar resolutions, along with the state sheriffs’ association. She said no matter how Town Board members felt about guns, Bethlehem contains both a gun shop and a shooting range that could be affected by the law, along with the many hunters in the area.
Kuhn replied he meant to bring something up about the same topic later in the meeting, but she wouldn’t be happy with what he had to say.
The councilman said in response to the rally being held at the Capitol the next day in opposition to the law, and to efforts across the state to get local municipalities to pass resolutions opposing the law, he felt those in favor of the SAFE Act should also speak out.
“Gun violence in this country and state is something that I feel very strongly about. I think we have an epidemic of gun violence in this society,” he said. “And obviously what happened in Connecticut in December is a disturbing incident that kind of galvanized the issue.”
The resolution Kuhn proposed states the town supports the newly passed Secure Ammunition and Firearms Enforcement Act of 2013 because the board believes the law “protects our citizens and save lives.” It also lends support to the town’s representatives in the legislature who voted in favor of the law: Senator Neil Breslin and Assemblywoman Patricia Fahy.
Kuhn said despite what people may say about how it was passed, the law’s restrictions on the sale of assault weapons, extended magazines and other changes are to be commended.
“I don’t think there’s anything in the New York SAFE Act that violates the Second Amendment, and I also think … there was a point brought up about hunting and shooting ranges, and there’s nothing in this law that would prevent law abiding citizens from going to shooting ranges or hunting or anything like that,” Kuhn said. “And that’s important to me.”
Supervisor John Clarkson said he is in support of the concept of the resolution, but said the board should wait to vote until more residents who might be in disagreement could speak and the verbiage of the resolution could be discussed.
Councilwoman Joann Dawson said she felt the law was not something the board should take a stance on at all, and on those grounds she would vote “no.”
Councilman Bill Reinhardt said he would be in favor of the resolution because he feels the law did affect the town and is a public safety issue. He cited the shooting of firefighters in Webster in December. The SAFE Act sets a mandatory life sentence for those convicted of murdering a first responder.
Councilman Kyle Kotary did not speak out on the subject.
Four residents later spoke against the resolution proposed by Kuhn during public comment, and no one spoke in favor of it.
Resident Robert Jasinski said he has been a gun owner for years and with the law as it is written, he would be considered a felon.
“I’m an honest citizen, I’ve never been arrested for anything, I was on the police force for 10 years,” he said. “I’ve lived in this town for 52 years and to have you present something like this on the spur of the moment, just boggles my mind.”
Robert Jasinski said if the resolution were passed without appropriate time for public input he would picket outside of Town Hall, alone of need be.
Linda Jasinski said if the resolution were passed she would take back her compliments about the town’s transparency because the board was essentially trying to do what the legislature did by getting something passed during a late-night meeting.
“I can tell both of you have no idea about firearms,” she said, speaking to Kuhn and Reinhardt. “I too am very upset about the children being shot and the first responders being shot, but you have to realize how many people in your town own firearms. And yet, out of all those numbers there have been no problems with them here.”
Kuhn later said the proposal of the resolution was not meant to be seen as the board trying to slip something past the public, he just felt the timing was appropriate given the rally to be held in Albany the next day.
Ultimately, the resolution was not voted on. The resolution was scheduled to be placed on the agenda for the Town Board’s next meeting, but board members decided Thursday, March 7, to forgo the proposal.
