Day Pushes LaCorte Back

County legislator and 2013 county executive candidate Ed Day is out of town, but his son and campaign manager Chris Day replied to Democratic candidate Dagan LaCorte’s assertions on gun control.

Day the younger, a decorated veteran of the Afghan War, said on his father’s behalf, “First, in regards to Mr. Lacorte’s position on guns, his position on gun ownership is a straw man and betrays his lack of knowledge of guns and their features and functions.  Automatic and select fire weapons are banned throughout the United States, and have been banned for decades without challenge, so trying to draw a distinction between them and semi-automatic weapons in his position is either based on ignorance or a deliberate attempt to confuse the matter.

“His obvious confusion about the term ‘assault weapon’ as bandied about by politicos shows the exact need for a more specific and fair definition and validates my father’s position.  The actual weapons being discussed are in fact all semi-automatic weapons, just ones that bear a physical resemblance to military-style rifles and can accept a magazine (as, again, all semi-automatic weapons can).  Does he then support ownership of these weapons, since they are the ones in question and are semi-automatic?  My father opposes the so-called ‘assault weapons ban’ as it is phrased and proposed because it bans non-assault weapons and, even according to President Obama’s own justice department, is ineffective in combating gun crime.”

“As to my father’s position on guns, I can direct you to the press release that went out previously and his opinion piece on the matter as published in Nyack News and Views (http://www.nyacknewsandviews.com/eddayguncontrol/) for full quotes.  It is not an extreme position in either direction, but he does support 2nd Amendment rights and clear, logical, and responsible gun laws that do not place an unfair burden on legal gun owners, such as background checks, cross-checking of bulk purchases of ammunition against the background check database, and magazine size restrictions, though not as restrictive as that proposed by Governor Cuomo (for example, no one needs 100 rounds in a magazine – even the US Military only carries 30 round magazines – and one person with a 100 round magazine renders a dozen concealed carry citizens completely useless in a standoff situation).

“The best way to deal with gun crime is to attach extremely punitive punishments for illegal possession of a firearm or commission of a crime with a firearm, and to ensure that mentally unstable persons are unable to legally purchase firearms.  Further, all of the planks he put forth in his resolution, as supported by a bipartisan coalition of legislators, were direct recommendations from the Sheriffs’ Association, and nearly all dealt with closing loopholes left by the rushed and haphazard process by which the law was passed.  They are eminently reasonable and supported by a broad coalition of citizens and law enforcement.  I should also add that I, along with I think all other gun owners and most non gun owners, think it’s patently absurd that Mr. Lacorte thinks his lack of gun ownership is somehow a qualification for the position of county executive.”

READ LACORTE’S ORIGINAL STATEMENT HERE

  day, gun control, lacorte