Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver answers questions from the Capitol press corps following Governor Andrew Cuomo's 2013 State-of-the-State Message in Albany. Silver, who favors a ban on assault rifles, said he supports the Governor's proposal to strengthen the state's gun laws and crackdown on the availability of assault weapons.

As a strong advocate of Universal pre-K, Silver also agrees with the Governor's proposal today to build on a long-time Assembly initiative and invest in high-quality early childhood education. The Speaker noted that education experts have determined pre-K students are more likely to reach their education potential than students who start school later.