JOE: Good morning Calliope.
CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. It’s been quite a while since our last chat.
JOE: Sorry about that. I have been quite busy with GO ART!.
CALLIOPE: Doing what?
JOE: We have two manor events in the works. One is the dedication of our renovated building as GO ART!, Seymour Center.
CALLIOPE: I take it you have an old building.
JOE:It was built in the early 1830′s as the Bank of the Genesee which handled the transactions for the Holland Land Purchase, famous at least here in Western New York.
CALLIOPE: How did you get it?
JOE: The Batavia Club owned it for many years and gave it t0 us a few years ago for the Arts Council.
CALLIOPE: You said two projects.
JOE: The other is our Picnic in the Park for the Fourth of July. I am busy working on publicity materials for both events.
CALLIOPE: No wonder I haven’t heard from you.
JOE: I’ll try to post more often in the future.
CALLIOPE: Always a pleasure.
JOE: Back to today’s job of working on the bathroom. Keeps me grounded.
Hawley votes against 'anti-Second Amendment' bill
On Wednesday, Assemblyman Steve Hawley voted against legislation introduced by the Assembly Majority that he claims further imposes on the 2nd Amendment Rights of lawful gun owners and places costly mandates on firearm manufacturers.
“The legislation introduced...is an absolute violation of the 2nd Amendment Rights of New Yorkers," Hawley said in a news release. "Although the intention of the legislation is to prevent violent gun crimes across the state, the fact is that most gun-related violence is committed by criminals who obtained their firearms illegally.
“Unfortunately, the Assembly Majority has disregarded this fact, as these new restrictions will not only end up hurting the sportsmen who value the tradition of hunting, but also the small businesses and manufacturers that they support.
"Instead of continuing to place more restrictions on law-abiding citizens and businesses, the Majority should be working on legislation that will help pursue the criminals who obtain their firearms illegally.”
Assemblyman Hawley opposed bill A.6468-C, which requires that manufacturers micro-stamp ammunition, and bill A.10894, which requires firearm owners to re-license their pistols every five years. Both bills passed. They were introduced as part of what Hawley calls the "Assembly Majority’s annual Anti-Gun Package."
“Protecting New Yorkers from violent gun crimes should not be done in a way that hurts law-abiding citizens. I...will continue to vote against future legislation that violates our constitutional rights."