Assemblyman Bill Reilich (R,C,I-Greece) today voted against several measures introduced by the Assembly majority that would severely impact the rights of law-abiding gun owners and dealers. Three bills of major concern for Assemblyman Reilich were: (A.6525-A), which would impose additional restrictions on firearm dealers; (A.9819-A), which requires any semiautomatic pistol manufactured or delivered to any licensed dealer in the state to be capable of micro-stamping ammunition; and (A.7331-A), which would increase the type of assault weapons banned in the state.
“While there are some merits to the legislation proposed today by my colleagues on the other side of the aisle, their good intentions of keeping our neighborhoods safe do not realistically translate into safer policies,” said Reilich. “Instead, I see this legislation as a way of subverting the Second Amendment and imposing draconian regulations on the rights of law- abiding gun owners and dealers in the state of New York.”
Assemblyman Reilich noted that the problem is with illegal guns and the criminals who use them, not legal firearms obtained for hunting, collecting and personal protection.
“The legislation proposed today does not do enough to curb illegal gun use and seeks to penalize law-abiding citizens’ Second Amendment rights,” said Reilich. “That’s why I supported legislation that would help lower gun-related crimes by enforcing harsher penalties for criminals who use firearms to commit a crime.”
To keep Monroe County safer, Assemblyman Reilich and his minority colleagues introduced a hostile amendment – A3659 – which aims to close a loophole to allow both first time and repeat violent felony offenders to receive the same additional five-year prison sentence for an underlying crime committed with a firearm. Currently, this penalty is handed down only for persistent violent felony offenders.