To the Editor
When I was first elected Village Mayor in 2009, I quickly joined Mayors Against Illegal Guns, now named Everytown for Gun Safety.
I commend Sleepy Hollow’s representatives in Albany: State Senator Peter Harkham, Assemblymember Tom Abinanti, as well as Governor Kathy Hochul and Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins. They persist in the struggle to get illegal guns off the street while making legal guns safer.
The bills signed last week — requiring a person be licensed, minimum age 21, to purchase semi-automatic rifles; strengthening our Red Flag law; microstamping new guns; making it illegal to purchase body armor for anyone not in law enforcement — these were long overdue.
Gun safety is a defining issue in Tom’s political career. As a Westchester County Legislator, he passed a model Safe Storage Act. He successfully worked to ban gun shows at Westchester County Center. (Thank you, George Latimer, for reinstating that ban.)
Tom took this campaign to Albany. In the Assembly, he voted for the SAFE Act among other laws to prevent gun violence on our streets and in our homes. The Abinanti ‘ghost gun’ bill was signed by the Governor in 2019.
Tom’s record shows that he understands the issues surrounding guns and gun ownership. He drafts thoughtful legislation and has the expertise to get things done. Moms Demand Action named Tom a 2022 Gun Sense Candidate. Gun safety is one reason that I’ve endorsed Tom. Re-elect Tom Abinanti to the NYS Assembly.
Ken Wray
Mayor
Village of Sleepy Hollow
