Fighting the Plague

Second Amendment rallies gather steam across America; approximately 300 NRA members and other gun rights believers show up at Rockland County Legislative Building

BY DYLAN SKRILOFF

Hundreds of firearms owners and second amendment supporters gathered outside the Rockland County Legislative Chambers in New City on Saturday, joining tens of thousands more around the country in recognition of Gun Appreciation Day and to protest new regulations on firearms.

In New York, crowds were larger than in some parts of the country where gun culture is considered a larger part of life. That was in response to the Governor Andrew Cuomo’s new laws which most gunners considered draconian.

At the New City rally, hymns of country filled the air, as the participants use the rally as a time to dig deep and get in touch with what they believe America really is.

Chaplain William Kalaidjian lamented, “Our country has been taken over by politicians who really don’t know what they’re doing to this great country.” He said, “We are the home of the free and land of the brave.”

Kaladjian, has marked 42 years as a veteran on the NYPD and 37 years as chaplain at VA Hospital.

Stan Pasco, Rockland president of the Friends of the NRA said to the rally of men and women, “Our legal firearms never hurt you. We are the people who fought and died for this great country. Cuomo and his lackies are self-serving politicians. Crime will not decrease because of this law (NY SAFE).”

For dramatic effect, Pasco played taps over the Bill of Rights.

County Legislator Frank Sparaco (R) said, “I’m proud to live in a country where behind every blade of grass is a freedom-loving patriot with a rifle. We make the world a better place. We make the world a safer place. Why are they so afraid of us?”

He then tore into Senator David Carlucci and other like-minded progressive. “They’re elitist eggheads like our great Senator Carlucci. He followed the orders of his handlers, the New York City liberals that control him. This is our punishment for our complacency. Our punishment for sending a boy to do a man’s job,” Sparaco said.

He then mocked New York lawmakers who due to Andrew Cuomo’s possibly unconstitutional haste, forgot to make exemptions in the law to allow police to carry more than seven rounds in a gun. Referencing the Second Amendment itself, Sparaco said, “Look around you here now, we are the militia, and we will not be infringed. The second amendment has nothing to do with hunting, it’s about protection, especially against a tyrannical government.”

Legislator Doug Jobson (R) agreed. He said, “The liberals always attach a cost when they want to take a privilege away.”

He also noted, “The Journal News made a terrible mistake and they realize it now.”

George Rumelt, a marine vet, also reflected on the infamous Journal News gun map. He called the map, “Totally inappropriate, ludicrous, stupid.”

  carlucci, cuomo, gun rally, Rockland, sparaco