MEANWHILE, IN ALBANY, NY USA: ASSEMBLYMAN ABINANTI REPORTS ON SUMMER SESSION | WHITE PLAINS CITIZENETREPORTER 3,826,065 VISITS IN ONE YEAR---73,578 VISITS A WEEK BY 1,111,506 VISITORS

WPCNR ALBANY ROUNDS. By Assemblyman Thomas Abinanti, 92nd Assembly District. July 28, 2022:

After the disastrous rulings of the United States Supreme Court in June overturning the 50-year-old landmark Roe v.Wade  decision and then striking down parts of New York’s “concealed carry” gun law, we in the New York Legislature met in Special Session – four weeks after the conclusion of our regular session – to protect New Yorkers.

        First, we gave first passage to the proposed “Equality Amendment” to the New York Constitution to protect the right to abortion and prohibit discrimination on the basis of disability and sex,

       Second we passed a new law strengthening the standards for
“concealed carry” of handguns.Equality Amendment

In response to the truly reactionary decision by the United States Supreme Court in overturning Roe v.Wade, we in the Legislature passed the Equality Amendment to the New York State Constitution that would give Constitutional protection for the right to an abortion and against discrimination based on disability and sex.

       To become effective, this Amendment must be passed again next year by the Legislature and then by a majority of New York voters in a general election.

       Here is the language that we passed.§ 11. a. No person shall be denied the equal protection of the laws of this state or any subdivision thereof. No person shall, because of race, color, ethnicity, national origin, age, disability, creed [or], religion, or sex, including sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, pregnancy outcomes, and reproductive healthcare and autonomy, be subjected to any discrimination in [~~his or her~~]  their civil rights by any other person or by any firm, corporation, or institution, or by the state or any agency or subdivision of the state, pursuant to law.

New Handgun License Standards To Decrease Gun Violence

In response to the dangerous and disturbing decision by the United States Supreme Court attempting to dismantle New York’s 100+ year-old sensible “concealed carry” gun law, we in the Legislature passes and the Governor signed an omnibus bill to insure that handguns are only in “safe” hands and to ban all guns from “sensitive” places.

This new law supplements the 10 new laws we passed at the end of the regular session to decrease gun violence.

This new law puts the state – not the counties – in control of the standards for gun permits and adds the requirement that applicants pass a firearm training course – a requirement that I long-ago got enacted for Westchester

The new law shortens the re-certification period to 3 years, tightens controls on the sale of “body armor” and bullets, and makes numerous technical changes to accomplish the law’s purposes.