Friday, April 26, 2024 | St. Lawrence County, NY
BY ANDY GARDNER North Country This Week CANTON – The St. Lawrence County legislature’s Finance Committee passed a bill applauding County Court Judge Greg Storie for removing pistol permit …
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BY ANDY GARDNER
North Country This Week
CANTON – The St. Lawrence County legislature’s Finance Committee passed a bill applauding County Court Judge Greg Storie for removing pistol permit carrying restrictions and allowing cross-registration of handguns outside of a household.
The committee took the vote during their Monday, Feb. 22 meeting. It has to be finalized in front of the full board next week.
Legislator Joe Lightfoot, R-Ogdensburg, introduced the motion, which received bipartisan support.
He said the prior restrictions, imposed by now-retired judge Jerome Richards, “effectively prohibited the holder from carrying a pistol or revolver for the purposes of self protection or any other reason than those things that were listed on the permit.”
Legislator Bill Sheridan, R-Hammond, who chairs the full board, asked to be added as a co-sponsor “and remind everyone the Second Amendment will not be infringed.”
Lightfoot said Storie, who won a campaign heavily focused on gun rights, “has decided those restrictions are not required, they are not constitutional. He has also removed the requirement ... that if you wanted to cross-register a pistol and revolver it had to be someone in the same household.”
The vote passed 13-0-1. Legislator Margaret Haggard, D-Potsdam, abstained. She said it wasn’t because of any issues related to firearms, and she recognizes that Storie’s decision on pistol permits is within his purview as an elected county judge.
“I don’t believe this kind of resolution is appropriate when we have a separation of powers. I wouldn’t want the judge weighing in on things we do here,” she said. I’m going to abstain. A no might signal in some ways I’m against guns ... I swore to uphold the Constitution. That includes all the amendments.”
Legislator Rick Perkins, R-Potsdam, said he thanked the judge “for upholding the Second Amendment.”
“We have fought for this for the six years I’ve been in office, to get these rights back,” he said.
“I think this resolution is important,” said Finance Committee Chairman Kevin Acres, R-Madrid.
