Tkazyik
threatens veto
POUGHKEEPSIE – A number of public officials on the local, county
and state level Thursday voiced their opposition to a Poughkeepsie Common
Council proposal to create further gun storage requirements.
The Safe House Ordinance, proposed by Alderwoman ShaRon McClinton in reaction
to a slew of accidental shootings of children by other children, would
require gun owners to keep their guns locked and stored when not in their
immediate possession, enclosed in either a carry case, or locked enclosure,
or locked in a manner to prevent them from being fired, according to City
of Poughkeepsie Mayor John Tkazyik.
It’s likely that this ordinance would be challenged on its constitutionality.
The Supreme Court decision in Heller v. District of Columbia stated that
a general requirement that firearms be locked in a safe or that there
be a trigger lock on a firearm is a violation of the Second Amendment
right to bear arms.
“The ordinance as proposed is unconstitutional and will subject
the city to the needless expense of defending a flawed ordinance in court,”
Tkazyik said.
Currently, New York State through the Safe Act requires that gun owners
lock up a gun if there is a person in the residence who is legally unable
to operate a firearm, such as a felon or a child, and that the gun owner
must secure the firearm when out of their immediate possession.
State Assemblyman Kieran Michael Lalor (R-East Fishkill) feels that proposed
ordinance is just feel-good legislation that will not solve gun problems
but will continue to chip away at Second Amendment rights.
“We’re here today, regardless of the format of the proposal
is in right now; we are here to live out President Jefferson’s words
that the price of freedom is eternal vigilance,” Lalor said. “We’re
going to be vigilant about our rights here in Dutchess County.”
Dutchess County Legislator and former City Alderwoman Gwen Johnson and
Alderman Lee David Klein also spoke out against the proposal.
Tkazyik vowed to vote it.
“And I will veto any, any legislation that is voted by the common
council that comes before my desk to enact this safe storage ordinance.
I will veto it on day one,” Tkazyik said.
