Don't Let Lee Zeldin Turn New York Into Texas

Op Ed: Don’t Let Lee Zeldin turn New York Into Texas

By Elaine A. Turley

October 8, 2021

The Texas resident arrested in September for carrying a concealed loaded weapon in his truck in defiance of New York State law likely would have been permitted to carry his loaded handgun into our state if Congressman Lee Zeldin had his way.  As a cosponsor of H.R. 38, known as the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act, introduced in Congress on January 4, 2021, Zeldin is attempting to bypass New York State laws and allow the laws of states like Texas to apply.

Beginning on September 1^st of this year, Texas residents are not required to obtain a license, permit or training to carry a handgun, thanks to legislation signed by Gov. Greg Abbott in June 2021.  H.R. 38, reintroduced in the U.S. Congress this year and cosponsored by our Congressman Lee Zeldin, would force New York State and its localities to follow the concealed carry laws of states like Texas rather than those enacted by the officials elected by the majority of our New York voters. 

The law in New York for the past century that requires residents to demonstrate “proper cause” to carry a concealed weapon in public may itself be in jeopardy, challenged in a case brought in 2018 by the New York State Rifle & Pistol Association and Robert Nash and Brandon Koch, two New York residents whose applications to carry guns in public had been denied. The United States Supreme Court has agreed to hear the case on November 3, 2021, but regardless of the outcome of this case, New York law will continue to impose greater restrictions than the law of many states, including Texas.  

In every year between 2015 and 2019 New York lost approximately 4 people per 100,000 to death by an injury inflicted by firearm while Texas lost approximately 12 per 100,000 of its population.  This includes death by suicide and homicide.  In 2019 the number of deaths by firearms in New York was 3.9 per 100,000 people, the number of deaths by suicide overall was 8.3 per 100,000 and deaths per 100,00 by homicide was 3.2 people. In Texas the number of deaths by firearm in 2019 was 12.7 per 100,000, the number of deaths by suicide per 100,000 was 13.4 and by homicide 5.9.  

By supporting the H.R. 38 Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act, Lee Zeldin is attempting to deny New York the right to enforce the laws that are effectively keeping our residents safe by letting states that fail to protect people force their laws on us.

Elaine Turley is an attorney who lives in Smithtown with her husband and family.  She is the former chairperson of the Smithtown Democratic Committee. 

Why All Doom And Gloom, Lee Zeldin?

Op Ed: Why All Doom and Gloom, Lee Zeldin?

September 26, 2021

 In a recent campaign release Lee Zeldin complains that government vaccine mandates wrongly violate the liberty of Americans and are bad for the economy.  He is wrong, he knows it, and his message is dangerous to the health, wellbeing and economic recovery of our state and our nation. Do not believe Lee Zeldin’s tall tale of doom and gloom!

Friday night past I was stopped at the 62^nd Street exit off the Queensboro Bridge on my walk to a lovely exhibition at the United Nations.  After I made a comment through my protective mask about the futility of horn honking in the traffic jam, a masked young woman next to me responded that she came to New York two months prior and thought the traffic terrible.  I shared my unexpected gratitude seeing New York’s traffic return after the devastating experience of empty suburban and city streets during the height of the COVID 19 pandemic.

Thanks to the development and availability of the vaccine against the coronavirus, New York’s vitality has returned.  Restaurants that barely survived the pandemic along with those that are newly opened or reopened are filled to the brim with happy people.  The streets, the parks and stores are bustling with New Yorkers and tourists alike.

And it isn’t only New York that is returning.  Last spring and summer our family, like many, cancelled travel and leisure activities.  This summer I returned to the beaches of North Carolina and spent a glorious week scuba diving with five dive friends.  Recently I attended a weekend long music festival on a New Jersey beach with 37,000 other guests.

New York City has mandated proof of vaccination for indoor dining; my dive boat required proof of vaccination to board; and the New Jersey concert venue required proof of vaccination or a negative COVID 19 test.  My observation is most people are willing to take the vaccine and wear a mask to safely return to the day to day life we missed so much.  And because of that willingness, our economy, our city and state, and our country is making progress toward recovery.  

There have been many United States Supreme Court cases upholding the power of the state to mandate vaccines to protect the public health.  In a landmark 1905 case, Jacobson v Massachusetts, the Court pointed out the dangers and the unfairness of an individual defying government mandates believing that his or her individual liberty must prevail over the public interest when it said, “We are not prepared to hold that a minority, residing or remaining in any city or town where smallpox is prevalent, … may thus defy the will of its constituted authorities, acting in good faith for all, under the legislative sanction of the State. If such be the privilege of a minority, then a like privilege would belong to each individual of the community, and the spectacle would be presented of the welfare and safety of an entire population being subordinated to the notions of a single individual who chooses to remain a part of that population.”

We can’t afford to let Lee Zeldin subordinate the welfare and safety of our great state to his tall tale of gloom and doom!

Elaine Turley is an attorney who lives in Smithtown with her husband and family.  She is the former chairperson of the Smithtown Democratic Committee. 

Opinion: Trashing Zeldin? Hardly, It's About Standing Up For America

If Republicans Won’t Stand for America, Democrats Will

By Elaine Turley

A Smithtown Matters reader requested in a Facebook post that other readers submitting letters to the editor “Stop trashing Zeldin all of the time … .”  Missing in this post is the understanding that we who believe our government or those who govern are a danger to our community and our country need to exercise our right to effect change.  Democracy is about debate, not insurrection, threats of violence, or actual violence against our Capitol.

It is extraordinarily unfortunate for the Republican Party if it is true that only Democrats are stepping up to object to Mr. Zeldin’s actions.  Mr. Zeldin supported and continues to support the lie that our American institutions failed in their duty to oversee, administer and conduct the recent election, notwithstanding his various oaths to uphold our Constitution and our rule of law.  He continues to align himself with the Trump movement, to the detriment of our country.  The movements and positions with which Mr. Zeldin aligns himself promote violence against our government and its citizens.  I never thought in my many years as an American citizen that I would fear my fellow citizens and many in government as I do today.

Fortunately, many Republican leaders are waking from their dangerous slumber and encouraging rational Republicans to fight the fringe elements in their party.  I urge Republicans in the first congressional district to ask their Congressman with which side is he aligned.

I’m with Republican Adam Kinzinger, who told Politico this week, “I was disappointed over the last few weeks to see what seemed like the Republican Party waking up and then kind of falling asleep again and saying, ‘Well, you know, what matters if we can win in two years and we don’t want to tick off the base, … .’  I am grateful that Mr. Kinzinger, at great personal cost, had the courage to begin a web page Country1st.com to speak to Conservative voters who understand the danger posed by the Trump movement.  As a moderate Democrat it is not a group I will join, but I certainly applaud the voice of reason.

In contrast, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, who shortly after violent insurgents stormed our Capitol on January 6^th said while on the floor of the House, “The president bears responsibility for Wednesday’s attack on Congress by mob rioters. He should have immediately denounced the mob when he saw what was unfolding. These facts require immediate action by President Trump.”  He added, “Some say the riots were caused by antifa. There is absolutely no evidence of that. Conservatives should be the first to say so.” And he couldn’t be clearer when he added, “Let’s be clear, Joe Biden will be sworn in as president of the United States in one week because he won the election.”  This was the same day Lee Zeldin voted in favor of this dangerous lie.

And now Mr. McCarthy is spending time in Mar-a-Lago with his and Mr. Zeldin’s puppet master, Donald Trump.  And Mr. McCarthy, as House Minority Leader, has failed to stand up and denounce the conspiracy theories and outrageous lies spoken by Marjorie Taylor Greene, who has announced in the last couple days that she is soon visiting Mr. Trump at his Florida home.  Ms. Greene has been appointed by Republicans in the House to the Education and Labor Committee, something that would be unlikely without Mr. McCarthy’s support.

If Republicans wish for Democrats and other voters to stop bashing Mr. Zeldin, ask him to tell us publicly whether he denounces Ms. Greene’s appointment to the Education and Labor Committee, does he denounce her view that all previous presidents of the United States of both parties are part of the “deep state” working against Donald Trump, that school shootings have been staged by those who wish to ban guns and her support of those who have called for violence against our elected leaders.  And let’s ask Lee Zeldin to make a public statement that he supports the American institutions including our state legislatures, boards of election, state departments, state courts, federal courts, Congress and the Supreme Court of the United States, all of which have concluded that Joseph Biden was legitimately elected President of the United States of America.  Lee Zeldin’s failure to do so overshadows any accomplishments of his tenure.

If Republicans continue to abdicate their responsibility to hold their party and its elected officials responsible for their actions, then Democrats must continue to take such responsibility.

Elaine Turley is an attorney who lives in Smithtown with her husband and family.  She is the former chairperson of the Smithtown Democratic Committee.