(New York, NY) New Yorkers Against Gun Violence issued the following statement regarding the anti-SAFE Act rally held in Albany earlier today:
“At today’s rally in Albany, Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino, who headlined today’s event, promised to repeal the SAFE Act. Since a recent Siena College survey showed 63% of New Yorkers support the SAFE Act, Astorino clearly doesn’t speak for the majority of our state’s citizens.
The NY SAFE Act keeps dangerous weapons like assault weapons out of the hands of felons, domestic abusers and other dangerous individuals—and that’s why New Yorkers support the law by a two-to-one majority.
It also appears that the gun-lobby group, 2nd Amendment Coalition of NY, greatly exaggerated its support at today’s rally, planned for months. While claiming an audience of 15,000, other sources have estimated a crowd just 1/10 of that size.
At NYAGV’s press conference, also held in Albany today, inside the Capitol Building, we heard emotional stories from victims of gun violence—such as from Oxsana Naumkin, whose 12-year-old son Nicholas was unintentionally shot and killed by a playmate. We appeal to all New York citizens, including those owning guns, to support common sense laws like NY SAFE and A8293–a proposed child access prevention law named after Nicholas Naumkin–to reduce gun violence in our state.”
New Yorkers Against Gun Violence is a statewide advocacy group working to reduce gun violence through advocacy and education designed to encourage action, influence public opinion and lead to policy change. With a primary focus on New York State, the organization also advocates at the local and national levels for sensible laws, policies and practices that protect New York State residents from gun violence. www.nyagv.org.
