Alphecca

NY AG Candidates on Gun Violence

Hat-tip to reader Jay F. for pointing me to The Rochester (NY) Democrat & Chronicle where they ask various candidates for Attorney General -- all of them Democrats -- about how they would "curb gun violence". It's instructive that two of them ignore the cause of gun violence -- criminals -- and instead focus entirely on more gun control...

In their own words, first up, Andrew Cuomo:

We must hold gun manufacturers and dealers accountable for their products — period. That is why New York needs an attorney general who will challenge the federal government when it fails to protect us.

We must be creative and proactive and use economic pressure to force the gun industry to be responsible. We can organize law enforcement agencies across the state to agree to purchase weapons only from those manufacturers and dealers that follow a code of conduct. We did it in the Clinton administration and we will do it again.

New York must finally pass a state assault-weapons ban. There is no legitimate sporting purpose for these deadly weapons, which threaten police officers who put their lives on the line to protect us.

Um, Andrew? New York already has an AWB. Might not go as far as you and the Brady Bunch would like (such as banning pre-'94 hi-cap mags) but it follows the now-defunct federal ban.

I notice that -- again -- he blames guns and gun makers rather than thugs and criminals and wants to violate the "Protection of Lawful Commerce...Act" and try to make some money suing everybody in sight. Except the criminals.

Well, if you think Cuomo is extreme, check out Mark Green:

As attorney general, I would support civil lawsuits against out-of-state gun shops that flood New York's streets with illegal guns. We can find evidence for legal action by using New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg's tactic of sending undercover agents to gather evidence against out-of-state gun dealers who knowingly violate gun laws.

Many New York officials, legislators and gun control advocates have been working on other common-sense and creative solutions to the problem of gun violence.

As attorney general, I would join them to require Family Courts to ask about the presence of guns in the home when issuing an order of protection, and have law enforcement take action to retrieve these weapons. I would also work to impose criminal and civil liability on gun owners who negligently store guns that result in children injuring others.

But legal guns can also kill, so we must also make legal guns "safer" guns.

I support legislation, regulations and legal settlements to require advanced technology so that only the lawful owners could fire their guns. As a temporary alternative, guns should be "child-proofed." I also support mandatory technology that allows police officers to easily identify the particular gun that fired a particular bullet.

We should also ban low-cost "Saturday night specials," and other cheap and inaccurate guns favored by criminals and gang members.

Is that all? Just legislation, regulations, and legal settlements to pretty much make guns useless in self-defense, get rid of affordable ones for poor people, sue everyone in sight (seems to be a common theme in NY) and require ballistic fingerprinting (you know, the technology that hasn't solved a crime yet in MD). That's all!

Oh, and nothing about going after the gang-bangers.

Not all the choices for Attorney General are so bleak. Better is Sean Patrick Maloney:

I will crack down on illegal gun trafficking by targeting unethical gun dealers and creating a gun violence task force within the attorney general's Criminal Division.

I support anti-gang efforts like Project Exile that serve to draw a hard line against the gangs who use guns to prey on families and businesses in our state.

We need to create a background check system in order to efficiently and quickly screen gun sales — both public and private — in an effort to keep guns out of the hands of criminals while respecting the privacy of citizens.

To deter criminal gun violence, I believe in a "no plea bargain" policy for those who use a gun to commit a violent crime.

I have been clear that although we don't presently have a capital punishment system in New York state that is fair or racially neutral, I believe in my heart that people who kill children, police officers or firefighters, or who commit acts of terrorism, deserve the death penalty.

At least Maloney wants to go after the criminals and actually punish them!

One thing in his statement: When he says that NY needs an efficient background check, does he not know there's one now (background check) or does he mean it isn't efficient -- takes too long for law-abiding applicants?

Okay, one more thing: The death penalty should be given to all murderers, not just those of children, police, etc. All law-abiding citizen's lives are precious and those who murder must face the ultimate punishment.

Still, Maloney sounds pretty reasonable. None of this talk about bans, Saturday night specials, or other nonsense.

Another candidate who "gets it" is Charles G. King:

As attorney general, Andrew Cuomo and Mark Green would lobby Albany to change laws. I will use existing laws to change New York.

I will take action against violent crime and gun violence on Jan. 1 as your attorney general. Cuomo's plan to curb gun violence cannot start until new laws are passed, and Rochester can't wait that long.

On day one in office, I will use the Attorney General's Organized Crime division to target the gang activity that is largely responsible for gun violence throughout New York's communities.

[...]

My plan is simple:

# Crack down on gang activity and eradicate associated violence through the powers of the Organized Crime Division.

# Use the OCD to get guns off the streets while working with federal, state and local enforcement.

# Investigate and subpoena gun dealers whose business practices violate the law.

Go after the gangs. That's the big one and I've been harping about it here for almost four years. I don't have NY statistics but cops estimate that in the Los Angelas area there are 100 THOUSAND (!) active gang members. New Jersey estimates over 17 thousand. I'm sure it's not much better in NY City or other large cities in the state. Heck, we're even seeing signs of it here in Vermont.

Go after the gangs. Lock them up forever. Crime will drop like a stone in a pond.

Anyway, rather a stark contrast between the views presented. Cuomo and Green blame and would punish law abiding citizens by depriving them of their rights. Maloney and King would rather go after the mutant thugs committing all the crime. I've already written about republican candidate Jeanine Pirro who, while claiming otherwise, has spent her career favoring gun control.

Pretty simple choices, huh? By the way, I don't follow NY politics all that closely and if any of you know that Maloney or King are not as gun-rights friendly as they present themselves in these essays, please comment about it for the sake of all NY gun-owning voters.

Posted by Jeff Soyer at August 29, 2006 06:56 AM