New York’s affiliate of the National Rifle Association has seen its membership explode in the months since Gov. Andrew Cuomo passed new and strict gun control measures. Now, the state chapter has the largest membership roll in the country.
“Membership growth over the past year has pushed [the New York State Rifle & Pistol Association] into the top spot over the Texas State Rifle Association and California Rifle & Pistol Association,” the chapter said on its website, Newsmax reported.
Reportedly, membership jumped from 22,000 to 41,000 since the state passed the Secure Ammunition and Firearms Enforcement Act in January 2013. The chapter also reported the receipt of $200,000 in donations to fight the law, Newsmax reported.
And in a statement to the Buffalo News, chapter president Tom King said: “This just goes to show how much mainstream support Second Amendment civil rights have in New York State. [Membership] has grown exponentially faster than it ever has before, and it can only be attribute to the SAFE Act.”
Mr. Cuomo signed into law a universal background check, as well as increased penalties for those caught with illegal guns and new crackdowns on certain types of firearms.
Mr. King said to the Buffalo News that the membership explosion ought to set on edge politicians who supported it.
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“I think it sends a message to all the anti-gun politicians, all the politicians sitting on the fence, that yes, if they thought that we were quiet and this was going to go away without anyone paying any more attention to it, they were just flat-out wrong,” Mr. King told the newspaper.
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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