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Concerned citizens packed the meeting of the Legislature’s Public Safety Committee Monday, urging that the County call upon New York State to repeal its new SAFE Act, which has imposed new regulations on gun possession and sales in New York State.

More than 80 people attended the meeting, many of them speaking out during close to an hour-and-a-half of impassioned comments, urging that Tompkins County join nearly all other counties in the state that are considering or have passed resolutions opposing the new legislation, enacted after recent gun violence including the school shootings in Newtown, CT late last year.

Citizen John Littlefield told the committee that a group called Citizens Against the SAFE Act has collected 1,600 signatures opposing the new law.  Those who spoke today criticized the new law as an infringement upon the civil and constitutional rights of law-abiding citizens, and a misguided attempt to address crime, since well-meaning, good citizens will be affected, and criminals won’t.  They also expressed deep concern about how the law was passed behind closed doors in only a couple of days, which some characterized as an abuse of power, a first step toward totalitarianism, and a $36 million unfunded mandate.

Offering an opposing view, one speaker told legislators that 500 petition signatures have been collected supporting the SAFE Act, maintaining that most people in the country believe in what she called “common sense gun laws.”

Committee Vice-Chair Peter Stein said he is sure that all members of the committee will pay attention to today’s comments, and that he has asked the Sheriff and County Attorney for information, in light of conflicting claims that have been circulating about the law.  The committee heard an overview of the major provisions of the law after the public comment was completed.

Legislator Jim Dennis recommended that opponents to the law also write their legislators in Albany to urge revisions in the law, as well as pursuing action at the local level.

Mr. Littlefield thanked the committee for its attention to the issue, saying “this is the debate we should have had before the law was passed.”

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