Gillibrand Defends Her 2nd Amendment Stance

New York gun control supporters are urging Gov. David Paterson to pass over Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand when he selects the state’s next senator, because, they say, her support of gun rights puts her “well outside the mainstream of most New Yorkers.” But Gillibrand today proudly defended herself as a supporter of the Second Amendment, after noting the importance of hunting to her upstate New York district and her own family.“I come from a hunting family,” said Gillibrand, after noting that her mother shoots the Thanksgiving turkey almost every year.

Last fall, Gillibrand said, her mother “got a turkey” and “got a deer.” According to Gillibrand, her mother “was on her rifle team in college” and is “the best shot in our family.”“We appreciate hunting rights in our family,” Gillibrand said, declaring herself “very pro Second Amendment.”“In upstate New York, we have a very rich culture in hunting, and I think hunting rights are very important,” Gillibrand said.

But Gillibrand insisted that the rights of gun owners and hunters don’t have to displace efforts to combat gun violence and promote gun safety.“There’s a lot of room where both sides can agree,” she said. “Gun safety, keeping guns out of the hands of children (and) making sure our guns are the safest in the world are all things we can work together on.”“We also can work on making sure we have double the number of police force and making sure our public safety is first and foremost,” Gillibrand said.

Gillibrand’s comments came at an inaugural parade watch party in a downtown D.C. hotel room that was organized by the New York State Society. Paterson had stopped by the event just moments before.Gillibrand said she had bumped into the governor Monday night, at a state Democratic Party reception. During the brief meeting, Gillibrand said, she “wished him luck.”“I just wished him well,” Gillibrand said, adding that there was “no substantive discussion.”Gillibrand was interviewed for the job in mid-December; today, she said “that went well.”

But Gillibrand said she’s trying not to interject herself in the process.“It’s just an important decision for the governor, and I have complete faith he will choose what’s best for the state, with all the considerations he has,” Gillibrand said. “My view has been that I felt very strongly about respecting his process, letting him decide, and (letting him weigh) all the issues that are relevant to what he wants for our state andour state’s future.”by Jennifer A. Dlouhy, Hearst Washington bureauSource: TimesUnion
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