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Northwoods in Le Roy among gun clubs joining in 'Shot Heard Round NY' protest

By Howard B. Owens

Whatever illusion Gov. Andrew Cuomo might have once had that opposition to the signature piece of legislation during his term would eventually fade away should be largely dispelled after a day like today.

Throughout New York today gun owners gathered at gun clubs to fire a single shot in protest at precisely noon in what was dubbed by organizers as "The Shot Heard Round New York."

More than 80 gun owners turned out at the Northwoods Sportsman Club on Gulf Road in Le Roy. There was also a protest in Batavia at Godfrey's Pond.

"I think it's huge that people took the time, in the rain, to come out and protest this," said Christina Marinaccio, who helped organize the event at Northwoods.

Sen. Mike Ranzenhofer and Assemblyman Steve Hawley participated in the protest.

"I thought it important to show solidarity with SCOPE and these hunting groups that are so opposed to the SAFE Act, as am I," Ranzenhofer said. "We're very dissatisfied, not only with the law itself, but the way it's been implemented."

Both Ranzenhofer and Hawley said Cuomo badly miscalculated when he rammed the unconstitutional gun control legislation through on the backs of support from Downstate interests. He clearly didn't understand how seriously the majority of Upstate New Yorkers take the U.S. Constitution.

"We're talking about the Constitution of the United States of America and as far as I know, New York is part of our country," Hawley said. "The SAFE Act was excuted last year under the cover of darkness and excluded every single New Yorker from having a discussion about the act. The papers were still hot off the presses when the Senate voted on it and we voted on it the next day.  We're run by New York City in this state and apparently those that are from Downstate choose to ignore the Constitution."

Ranzenhofer said his constituents find the legislation insulting.

"The comment I hear all the time is you're taking people who are law-abiding citizens and labeling them as criminals, and they're very offended by that," Ranzenhofer said. "These are people who have lived, and paid their taxes, here in Genesee County and across the state their whole lives. They're very upset."

One of the participants, John Marinaccio (Christina's brother), said the protest does send an important message to everybody in the state.

"We're able to unite all these people with a common interest and show everyone else out there why it's so important to us," Marinaccio said. "We feel that by rallying together like this we're proving that to people."

Christina said there is a direct problem with the SAFE Act that's going to hit the club.

"Our youth program is core of this club," Marinaccio said. "We're struggling right now because we won't be able to provide ammunition for our kids once the SAFE Act's provisions for background checks on ammunition goes through. It's really going to be a big hit for us because we really built up the program by offering the kids a chance to come down here and shoot for free."

Jeff Allen

The sounds around rural Oakfield were pretty impressive at noon. They included my S&W .357, my daughter with her Remington 870 and her boyfriend with his Mossberg 500 along with many others we heard nearby. Kudos to everyone who participated!

Jan 11, 2014, 9:35pm Permalink
Kyle Slocum

Unconscionable. How dare these little fly-over people disrespect their betters in the safe and civilized urban centers of our state where gun control makes everyone safe from violence? The Governor of the City of New York has granted us the blessings of the S.A.F.E. act and nobody should be allowed to question that belief. Those animals in this story should all be put into reeducation camps.

Or, so I have been repeatedly told by the alphabet networks and the New York (City) Times.

Jan 11, 2014, 10:53pm Permalink
Doug Yeomans

I was with all of you in heart while sitting at work on a 12 hour shift, but even if I had been able to participate, I might have fired a single .22 round or saved my hard-to-find bullets entirely. I think a better strategy is for everyone to bear arms as much as possible. Whenever you're outside, pack your concealed sidearm wherever legal, and if possible, sling a shotgun or rifle over your shoulder while shoveling or just walking. It's perfectly legal to walk down the road with a long gun exposed. Make firearms visible, and not something to be hidden away like they're taboo. How about firearm owners all converge when Andy is going to be holding a speech and instead of holding up signs saying Andy has to go and repeal the safe act, hold up firearms and let him know that we're not going anywhere. It's a constitutional right to bear arms, so lets do that instead of wasting ammo that's becoming more and more difficult to find. I noticed in most of the videos I watched, people were unloading their fully loaded firearms instead of sticking to the plan of a single round. To me, that's something that the pro-SAFE act crowd will use to their favor. "See, they have no self control with their firearms! They couldn't even stick to a single shot plan!" See how the anti-gun advocates can use your own plan against you? Good intentions can and will be used against you. As gun owners and constitutionalists, we need to not give the antis the ammo they need....just my 2 cents worth on the whole thing.

Jan 12, 2014, 7:11am Permalink

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