Albany, NY –-(Ammoland.com)- “Gun Owners of America – NY” today announced its 2017 legislative agenda for the “Civil Rights Restoration Act,” at a press conference headlined by Larry Pratt, Executive Director Emeritus of Gun Owners of America.

The legislation will include a six-point agenda to revitalize basic civil rights, including the right to due process, the right to counsel, and the right to privacy.

It will also seek to curtail the militarization of the NYS Police under the direction of Governor Cuomo for programs like the non-operational ammunition background check and pistol permit recertification.

Pratt said, “GOA is targeting operations in NY to combat the on-going civil rights violations of Governor Cuomo against the people who live and work here. The “Civil Rights Restoration Act” will bring back basic civil rights stolen by Governor Cuomo, including the right to a hearing, the right to counsel, the right to privacy of medical records. Without these basic human rights, New York is effectively a tyranny state, headed up by Governor Cuomo.”

This announcement comes on the four-year anniversary of passage of the “SAFE Act,” a controversial 39-page bill from 2013 that passed the Senate in the dead of night and slammed through the Assembly in less than three hours the following afternoon. The legislation has been under heavy criticism from Second Amendment advocacy groups ever since and is the subject of several state and federal lawsuits.

“Instead of blindly lashing out against responsible gun owners, the Governor should be focusing on the root causes of violence in our society. All of us who champion the rights of individuals and personal empowerment understand and support the need to focus on “at risk” communities to combat poverty, lack of education and lack of employment”, said Assemblyman Pete Lopez (R-C-I-Reform – Schoharie). “We want to build up and secure our families and communities, not divide them and knock them down as this Governor is recklessly doing.” “The Civil Rights Restoration Act will strengthen families, community-based sporting activities, access to a person’s records kept by the government, and even access to justice through the right to counsel,” said Michael Mastrogiovanni (Syracuse), Chairman of the Board, GOA-NY. “Everyone who believes in liberty and freedom will want to get behind this bill.” “The Second Amendment is the modern civil rights movement. Governor Cuomo, through the NYS Police, has invaded the medical privacy of nearly 600,000 New Yorkers, almost none of whom have been told that they are now listed in secret state and federal databases,” said Paloma A. Capanna, Attorney & Policy Analyst (Webster). “The Civil Rights Restoration Act will make this State a champion of civil rights, creating a model for national reform.” – Paloma A. Capanna, Attorney & Policy Analyst

New York Civil Rights Restoration Act Outlined:

define “due process of law” for all proceedings that could result in the loss of a handgun license or a firearm to include notice, a hearing, and the right to counsel protect patient privacy against on-going secret reporting of confidential medical information by healthcare workers to the NYS Police and the FBI amend the State’s definition of “family” to include “parents, brothers, and sisters” for purposes of firearms transfers expand the acceptable forms of identification for a handgun permit or a firearm sale to include fingerprints repeal the handgun permit recertification program of the NYS Police rescind the non-operational ammunition background check of the NYS Police

About Gun Owners of America (GOA)

Gun Owners of America (GOA) is a non-profit lobbying organization formed in 1975 to preserve and defend the Second Amendment rights of gun owners. GOA sees firearms ownership as a freedom issue. `The only no compromise gun lobby in Washington’ – Ron Paul.

Visit: www.gunowners.org to Join.