Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown is in this promo video from MAIG.

Technorati Tags: Mayor Byron Brown, Mayors Against Illegal Guns

I rarely agree with the Times, but they are dead on with their article, “Democratic Lock Seen on 2013 Albany Senate“:

“Albany gridlock got you down? Well, worry no longer, the end is in sight — the State Senate should be back in business by 2013. An analysis of population shifts since this decade began suggests that Democrats are poised to gain as many as six seats when legislative districts are reapportioned after the 2010 census …”

Yep, that’s what I’d been planning on as well. The Republicans, and specifically George Pataki, had a golden opportunity during the 90s to change the dynamics and they didn’t. They adopted much of the Democrat agenda including gun control and squashed any young, upcoming prospects from moving up the political food chain.

“… A spokesman for the Senate Republicans, John McArdle, said on Thursday that he anticipated that the party would gain after the next reapportionment. “We fully expect to be picking up seats,” he added …”

Nobody believes that.

What the story left out was Congressional redistricting. I expect the state will lose 2-3 Congressional seats as well. On a national level that’s good as those seats will move to more conservative parts of the country. On a state level, the only thing that’s going to prevent more gun control here is political action at the state and local level. That’s what the PAC is for.

Another uninspiring prospect: Draft Rudy Giuliani for Governor of New York State in 2010.

Technorati Tags: Rudy Giuliani

Looks like Rick Lazio will be running for governor next year. Why? The NY GOP is really desperate. Is anyone really interested in seeing him make a political comeback? I doubt it.

Lazio’s record on guns is at best a D-. He even made comments a few months back about how Republicans need to back away from supporting gun rights. Republicans ought to start backing away from him.

Technorati Tags: Rick Lazio

Senator ‘Sluggo’ Parker pulls no verbal punches according to PolitickerNY:

… State Senator Kevin Parker, an indicted Brooklyn Democrat who this morning was quoted saying he didn’t believe David Paterson would be elected in 2010, just told reporters Paterson is a “coke snorting, staff-banging governor.” …

Not bad, though it doesn’t have the pizazz of “I’m a fucking steamroller and I’ll roll over you and anybody else.”

Clown college is still in session in Albany.

Gov. Paterson is threatening the Senate which doesn’t seem to be going over very well. He even brought up gay marriage for some reason which is going to further piss off another Democrat Senator Ruben Diaz. Meanwhile, the Republicans are looking into filing criminal charges against Kevin ‘Sluggo’ Parker for allegedly threatening a GOP lawyer.

Not content to let the Senate be the center of attention, Assemblyman Anthony Seminerio pled guilty to fraud charges against him.

You just can’t make stuff like this up.

The NY Law Journal has some background on Richard Aborn and his campaign for Manhattan D.A. in their article “Aborn Highlights Experience as Advocate and Analyst of Criminal Justice Policy Issues.” His relevant antigun experience:

“… Mr. Aborn first became active in criminal justice policy during a campaign for firearms control. “When I was in the DA’s office I saw the amount of gun violence on the street and started…to understand the importance of prevention,” he said. After leaving the district attorney’s office in 1984, he volunteered with the state gun control lobby. It was there that he met Larry Lowenstein, the brother of Long Island Congressman Allard Lowenstein, who was gunned down in 1980 by a disgruntled staff member. Larry Lowenstein was also working with the national gun control movement, then Handgun Control Inc., now called the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. Mr. Lowenstein recruited Mr. Aborn to join the organization, which is named for Jim Brady, the former press secretary to Ronald Reagan who was shot in the head during a 1981 attempt on the president’s life. Mr. Aborn became president of the group in 1992 and cites passage of the “Brady Bill” as the crowning achievement of his tenure, which lasted until 1996. The Brady Handgun Prevention Act was signed into law by President Bill Clinton in 1993 and initially required a five-day waiting period before handguns could be bought. The Brady Campaign did not return requests for comment …”

Technorati Tags: Richard Aborn

Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms should be a convienience store, not a government agency.