Archive: Opinions

In a powerful and nearly unified message, the Tompkins County Legislature recently voted to urge the U.S. Congress to enact a law that mirrors provisions of the Assault Weapons Ban of 2017. Out of 13 votes cast, only one Legislator in our county chose to vote against this symbolic but important effort. Unfortunately, Mike Sigler, Lansing’s representative, demonstrated his unwillingness to join in the call to action from Tompkins to our state and national representatives.

Once-banned, assault weapons and high-volume magazines have been used in many recent high-profile mass murders, including the recent shooting at a high school in Florida. It’s clearly a complex problem. No one would suggest that any single effort, including our Legislature’s recent vote, will alone solve the problem of gun violence in our country. But Legislator Sigler, as the lonely and silent voice in our call to Washington, sadly missed an opportunity to declare our Lansing community’s disgust with the easy access to these tools of mass murder.

Robert Rieger
Lansing, NY
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