EC Leg. passes bill opposing SAFE act

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) - The Erie County Legislature passed a resolution Thursday opposing the NY SAFE Act.

The GOP minority was joined by two Democrats, Thomas Loughran and Terrence McCracken, in passing the resolution, with a final vote of 7-4.

"My hope is that it does send a message to have a more open process," Loughran said.

Republican Edward Rath added, "What I believe happened is the governor chose to score political points instead of scoring points to protect our Constitutionally-protected rights."

Erie County joins several other WNY counties in passing a resolution opposing the NY SAFE Act, including Wyoming, Orleans, Cattauragus and Niagara counties.

Erie County Democrat Lynn Marinelli questioned the logic of holding the vote, saying it has no real impact.

"It's not practical," she said. "It won't happen. It's the New York State Legislature. We are governed county-level by the state."

But Erie County Sheriff Tim Howard countered, "We need to be outraged by what happened in Albany. We need to be outraged about anybody in Erie County that represents us that thinks that what we do here doesn't make any difference."

Also Thursday, the lawsuit seeking to prevent New York's tough new gun law from being implemented has been adjourned until April 25. Hamburg attorney James Tresmond tells News 4 the Attorney General's office has asked for more time to respond.

Tresmond is preparing a class-action lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the law on several issues.
He says forcing New Yorkers to register their guns with local police agencies infringes on their privacy rights and potentially makes them vulnerable to burglaries should the information fall into the wrong hands.

Tresmond will apply for a preliminary injunction next week. He hopes this will help stop implementation of the law until the case is adjudicated.