Don't Let Lee Zeldin Turn New York Into Texas

Op Ed: Don’t Let Lee Zeldin turn New York Into Texas

By Elaine A. Turley

October 8, 2021

The Texas resident arrested in September for carrying a concealed loaded weapon in his truck in defiance of New York State law likely would have been permitted to carry his loaded handgun into our state if Congressman Lee Zeldin had his way.  As a cosponsor of H.R. 38, known as the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act, introduced in Congress on January 4, 2021, Zeldin is attempting to bypass New York State laws and allow the laws of states like Texas to apply.

Beginning on September 1^st of this year, Texas residents are not required to obtain a license, permit or training to carry a handgun, thanks to legislation signed by Gov. Greg Abbott in June 2021.  H.R. 38, reintroduced in the U.S. Congress this year and cosponsored by our Congressman Lee Zeldin, would force New York State and its localities to follow the concealed carry laws of states like Texas rather than those enacted by the officials elected by the majority of our New York voters. 

The law in New York for the past century that requires residents to demonstrate “proper cause” to carry a concealed weapon in public may itself be in jeopardy, challenged in a case brought in 2018 by the New York State Rifle & Pistol Association and Robert Nash and Brandon Koch, two New York residents whose applications to carry guns in public had been denied. The United States Supreme Court has agreed to hear the case on November 3, 2021, but regardless of the outcome of this case, New York law will continue to impose greater restrictions than the law of many states, including Texas.  

In every year between 2015 and 2019 New York lost approximately 4 people per 100,000 to death by an injury inflicted by firearm while Texas lost approximately 12 per 100,000 of its population.  This includes death by suicide and homicide.  In 2019 the number of deaths by firearms in New York was 3.9 per 100,000 people, the number of deaths by suicide overall was 8.3 per 100,000 and deaths per 100,00 by homicide was 3.2 people. In Texas the number of deaths by firearm in 2019 was 12.7 per 100,000, the number of deaths by suicide per 100,000 was 13.4 and by homicide 5.9.  

By supporting the H.R. 38 Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act, Lee Zeldin is attempting to deny New York the right to enforce the laws that are effectively keeping our residents safe by letting states that fail to protect people force their laws on us.

Elaine Turley is an attorney who lives in Smithtown with her husband and family.  She is the former chairperson of the Smithtown Democratic Committee. 

Opinion - America Under Siege

America Under Siege

By Elaine Turley

America was irrevocably changed on January 6, 2021 in ways that will become clearer once we are able to take a collective breath and recover from the shock of the violence on our government.  Make no mistake – this was unlawful violence perpetrated by an angry mob opposed to the rule of law that governs our democracy. 

This violence was not an act of civil disobedience designed to right a wrong committed by our government or legal system - it was mob violence in support of an individual who has convinced American citizens to violently fight for his personal interpretation of the law rather than the law as determined by elected and appointed officials from every state and the federal government as well as over sixty courts, including the highest court of the land, the Supreme Court of the United States of America.  

The violent uprising of January 6^th was inspired not only by the man who is refusing to accept the constitutional and statutory authority by which our democracy elects the officials who will represent our citizens, it has been promoted by all those elected officials who have encouraged American citizens to defy the laws of our nation.  Town and state leaders who enact and enforce laws to protect the public, such as the requirement to fence in a pool so our neighbors’ children don’t drown, but encourage our citizens to defy laws to protect our public from disease and pretend they are doing so in the name of liberty.  Officials elected to Congress who brazenly violate their oath of office by voting to overturn elections by the American people which have been investigated and upheld by officials and courts throughout this nation.  And ordinary Americans who engage in twisted logic to find any means possible to support an individual who has proven time and again that he is ignorant of and disdains our American laws and values.  

I fear for the future of our country.  It is not the threats of civil war and continued violence being promoted by the far right terrorists who stormed our capital yesterday that I fear most.  I fear the neighbors near and far who continue to support lawlessness and subversion.  I fear most those who seem to truly believe they are supporting American laws and values and will continue to do so unless true leaders emerge to fight this scourge.  But until then I am left fearing and despising neighbors and friends who I no longer trust to understand what my country truly represents.  Neighbors who no longer uphold and defend a legal system designed to protect and defend the United States of America and its people.  

Elaine Turley is an attorney who lives in Smithtown with her husband and family.  She is the former chairperson of the Smithtown Democratic Committee.