To the editor:

A week before the midterm election, my town board became advocates for gun lobbyists. They unanimously adopted, without constitutional argument or public referendum, a “pro-second amendment” resolution supporting concealed carry. They objected to recent legislation in New York (S.51001, A.41001) that makes it more onerous to conceal weapons in public places. The Schoharie County Board of Supervisors passed the template resolution in October, conflating the right to carry concealed weapons with freedom and our constitutional rights. Guns are prohibited in our town hall, though, to protect those who administer justice.

Each of us has a right to our own views about gun ownership and are free to follow all kinds of arguments about constitutionality. When town managers decide that their personal views are fine as official town positions? This is how deeply political bias has saturated even our most local government actions.

Not an actionable item, nor administrative, managerial, or visionary, local politicians have passed this partisan resolution to serve a national political agenda. A host of individual town supervisors made public political endorsements. Does this serve residents or partisanship? Sadly, this makes voting across party lines unacceptable for me. Politics are running rampant. We’re in a truck driving brakeless downhill; and unless we take the runaway truck ramp, any sense of government for all, even on this very local level, will be lost.

Sarah Meredith

Gilboa

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Sources:

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https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2021/S51001

https://nyassembly.gov/leg/?bn=A41001&term=&Summary=Y&Actions=Y&Votes=Y&Memo=Y&Text=Y

https://www.cobleskilltimesjournal.com/article.asp?id=106103

https://www.cobleskilltimesjournal.com/article.asp?id=106054

https://ag.ny.gov/new-york-gun-laws