Gillibrand Opposes Concealed Weapons Measure

WASHINGTON (AP) -- New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand says she opposes a Senate measure that would give people the right to carry concealed weapons across state lines as long as they obey the concealed gun laws of the state they are visiting.

Gillibrand, a Democrat, says it is "wrong for the federal government to overrule a state's ability to enact reasonable, constitutional gun laws.''

The measure by Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., was offered to an amendment to a spending bill. Thune says it would reduce crime by providing reciprocity to carry concealed firearms.

Gillibrand as a House member earned a 100 percent rating from the National Rifle Association. Since her January appointment to the seat, her position on guns has been frequently highlighted.

Comments

[DaveNYC]

02:55 PM on 07/22/2009

It's a real disappointment and a bad play of the cards for Senator Gillibrand. The radical downstate fringe of the NY Democractic party will not support Gillibrand no matter what she votes for or against. She is not part of their agenda. But, there are millions of gun owners who would support a pro-gun senator from New York. Unfortunately she is chosing the worst possible resolution.

What will actually happen will be that the "downstate" set will gut Gillibrand and hang her out to dry in the primary. "I refused to vote for a pro-gun reform bill because you guys wanted me to" won't make any difference. The pro-gun crowd -- which outnumbers the anti-gun crowd by many multiples -- will also hang her out to dry. "That's nice that you were willing to take our 'A' rating until you thought it would be more convenient to vote with the gun haters, but we 're not wasting our support on fair weather friends." But that pro-gun crowd might just have kept her in office, if she had played her cards right. We know this much -- it is exceedingly unlikely that a vote against the Thune Amendment would have ever "cost" Gillibrand anything. The anti-gun crowd votes Democratic.

[twogunmojo]

05:45 AM on 07/22/2009

selling out upstate new york will not get you reelected....

[bosha]

07:20 AM on 07/22/2009

She didn't sell out upstate New York and if anything she will get reelected from down state NY she already has my vote.

[glorialovelace]

02:43 PM on 07/22/2009

How has she sold out Upstate New York?

She has been working very hard on bills that will benefit farmers, and bring transportation, business and mainly jobs to the area.

Or are you just a single-issue gun-loving voter?

[franwnyc]

09:37 PM on 07/21/2009

Senator Annie Oakley will NOT win next year.
She and the accidental governor who appointed her will be defeated
by the NY State electorate.

How dare she claim to be a democrat!! Her father was Alfonse D'Amato's business partner. D'Amato was NY State Senator for 12 years and still is a republican.

Also she had received campaign contributions from the NRA and big tobacco and probably still does.

She is a menace of the worst kind.

[AliveInNYC]

08:30 AM on 07/22/2009

hmmm, let me see if I understand your logic: Senator Gilibrand's father was a business partner of D'Amato, therefore she must be a Republican. Is that about right?

You don't like her and don't want to vote for her, fine but don't use stupid logic like that.

[glorialovelace]

02:41 PM on 07/22/2009

"How dare she claim to be a democrat!! Her father was Alfonse D'Amato's business partner. D'Amato was NY State Senator for 12 years and still is a republican."

Not that it matters who Gillibrand's father is, but her father -- Douglas Rutnik -- is also a Democrat.

D'Amato was never a member of the New York State Senate. Before he was elected to the United States Senate, he was supervisor of the Town of Hempstead.

In the world of grownups, people do talk to -- and even befriend -- members of different political parties. Political party membership is not contagious, last I heard.

D'Amato is not now, nor has he ever been a close associate of Kirsten Gillibrand.

People who post incorrect information are menaces of the worst kind.

[TheJibreelaMonsters]

06:43 PM on 07/21/2009

she better bone up her resume after 2010