“President Obama’s Executive Action to increase background checks and toughen licensing requirements for firearms sales is misguided, ignores the democratic process, and is the wrong approach for many areas of the country, including Western New York. While I agree that gun safety is a salient concern, rushing through new requirements and stipulations is contrary to our country’s principles of democracy and populous support.

“It is a poor reflection on our state’s leadership that Gov. Cuomo has praised Obama for abusing Presidential Powers. Gov. Cuomo has a lackluster record on properly vetting important issues as we saw with the NYS SAFE Act and minimum wage. No executive should be abusing his authority as a way to side-step a legislature that, in large part, does not support these initiatives.

“President Obama’s actions place a heavy financial and social burden on law-abiding firearms owners in exchange for pursuit of his ideological agenda. Western New York is filled with legal firearms owners who love to hunt, target shoot, and buy, sell and trade firearms. Furthermore, rural citizens use firearms for home protection, especially in places where police are many miles away. The founding of our nation and the 2nd Amendment are inextricably linked and should never be suppressed in exchange for one man’s political pursuits.”