To the editor:

The North Country is home to thousands of gun owners who cherish their homes and the families they raise in them. They value the rule of law in the community they live in and would do anything to protect themselves and others. They understand that the tools necessary to protect themselves and their families are in the Second Amendment of the Constitution. In the United States and perhaps more so in the North Country, the Second Amendment is a part of our history and culture.

Democrats in Albany and Washington don’t get how important this right is to us and our families. Thankfully we have support in the highest levels of government with Congresswoman Elise Stefanik. With the Modern Safety Act introduced last month by Stefanik and her colleagues in Congress hopefully we can put an end to New York’s government overreach of our Second Amendment rights. Handgun rosters imposed by Democrats create barriers in the process of purchasing a firearm with high costs and unnecessary bureaucratic checkboxes. Thankfully Stefanik took this issue to the House floor to speak for us at the highest level of the law-making process. Stefanik understands how much the right to bear arms means to our community as the government encroaches more with each passing day.

Laurie Hagan

Ogdensburg