BY JEFF CHUDZINSKI
North Country Now

CANTON — St. Lawrence County Legislators appear poised to take action in response to new gun control measures passed by Governor Hochul this summer.

During the legislature’s full board meeting held on Sept. 12, legislators passed a resolution opposing the Concealed Carry Improvement Act by a 14-1 margin.

Legislator Margaret Haggard was the lone no vote.

The new laws, some of which were passed in an “extraordinary session”, were passed in direct opposition to the Supreme Court overturning New York’s 109 year old “proper cause” requirement for concealed carry applicants, according to state officials.

Legislator Rita Curran, who drafted the resolution, said it is important for elected officials to remember they take an oath to uphold the constitution before taking office.

“I’m hoping more people will read and understand their constitutional rights, and support this resolution,” Curran told the legislature.

Many legislators also signed on to co-sponsor the resolution, including legislators Kevin Acres, Tony Arquiett, Larry Denesha and Bill Sheridan.

The resolution, which is nearly four pages long, highlighted numerous rulings from the U.S. Supreme Court that affirmed an individual’s right to possess firearms outside of the home, including the landmark District of Columbia v. Heller from 2008 and NYSRPA v. Bruen, which was ruled on this June.

The resolution also detailed the lengths to which Governor Hochul went to further restrict firearms and lawful firearm owners in New York through the passing of the CCIA in July.

“The actions of the State of New York in not only refusing to abide by the decision of the Supreme Court but in actively seeking to reject it by passing a set of laws clearly in opposition to the rulings, challenges the constitutional authority of one of the three primary branches of federal government and poses a significant constitutional crisis not regularly seen in the United States,” the resolution reads.

“New York has been on a tear since the SAFE Act, with knee-jerk reactions for lawful constitutional rights to protect ourselves,” Acres said.

Acres continued on, saying the citizens of St. Lawrence County and New York State “have had their constitutional rights inhibited. I am fully on board to support this resolution 100 percent and I hope everyone else does as well.”

“This idea that you can’t have guns in the Adirondack park, that’s really not a clear issue. We don’t know if we can have a gun show, Parishville is having a gun show, West Potsdam is thinking about a gun show but they don’t know if they can legally host one,” Acres said.

West Potsdam has since canceled the planned gun show due to the new regulations set forth this summer that prohibit firearms in “sensitive spaces” throughout the state.

Acres also touched on other provisions in the CCIA, including the requirement to disclose all social media profiles within the last three years when applying or reapplying for a concealed carry license.

“The very fact that the last three years of anybody’s social media has to be disclosed is a clear violation of their free speech,” he said.

Though the resolution received wide approval from the board, Legislator Margaret Haggard took exception to some language used that would seemingly give County Attorney Steve Button free reign to file suits on behalf of the county without board approval.

In the resolution, four sections seemingly gave Button authority to review all legal challenges made against the CCIA, the authority to join or commence a suit in the name of St. Lawrence County, the authority to secure support from additional legal partners in said suits and the authority to secure support from those parties.

“I doubt he has time to do everything we’re asking him to do in this resolution,” Haggard said.

Button clarified his position, saying he did not want the degree of control offered in the resolution and wanted to proceed with any legal action as recommended and approved by the Board of Legislators.

During the meeting, Button did say it would be a “significant amount of time” invested to pursue legal action, much like was the case in NYSRPA v. Bruen. Button did clarify that all of the time he invested was done in his off time.

“With this, it depends on what role we took. If we took the most proactive role and became an active litigant in the suit, it could be a significant amount of time. I don’t want to leave you with the impression that this will be five hours, ten hours,” Button said.

Button went on further, saying if the board approved the “amicus route”, similar to the NYSRPA v. Bruen, it would be a much lower time investment. “It could be as little as five to seven hours, including our preliminary litigation state,” Button said.

The St. Lawrence County Legislature approved an amicus brief in support of the New York State Rifle and Pistol Association in the Bruen case last October.

Haggard followed up her previous statement, saying she supported all amendments in the constitution “but they are not without limits,” she said.

Legislator Nicole Terminelli, who ultimately supported the resolution, also voiced concerns regarding some language that would seemingly give Button carte blanche to begin litigation.

“I would just hate to find out after the fact that we were involved in a lawsuit,” she told the board.

An amendment was proposed by Terminelli to remove the section that would grant the county attorney such discretion, however it failed with a majority vote opposing.

A second amendment was proposed by Legislator Joseph Lightfoot, in which it was stipulated that the county attorney must receive board approval before pursuing or signing on to litigation. The amendment proposed by Lightfoot passed unanimously.

Under the laws in the CCIA, a slew of restrictions were put in place that affect lawful gun owners, including a requirement to pass a 16-hour pistol course, a mandatory interview with law enforcement, full disclosure of all social media accounts in the last three years, new safe storage restrictions and an extensive list of “sensitive spaces” firearms are not permitted, among other restrictions.