State Assemblyman Ken Blankenbush (R-Black River) has blasted Assembly Democrats who recently blocked three of the assemblyman’s bills to repeal Gov. Cuomo’s SAFE Act.

Blankenbush represents the 117th Assembly District, which includes the St. Lawrence County towns of DeKalb, Gouverneur, Hermon, Russell, Edwards, Fowler and Pitcairn.

The bills were held in the Codes Committee this week, meaning they’ve been killed for this legislative cycle and will not be brought to the floor for an up or down vote.

“The audacity of the Assembly Democrats never ceases to astonish me. Instead of allowing these bills to come to the floor for an up or down vote, they chose to hide behind the committee process to avoid public pressure,” said Blankenbush.

The Codes Committee has sixteen Democrat members compared to six Republicans on the committee.

Blankenbush noted that the current structure of assembly committees allows political bias to derail many legislative efforts.

Blankenbush sponsored two bills to repeal the gun control law (A.5955 and A.5608). He also sponsored a bill that would reverse the provisions of the measure that redefine many guns, pistols and rifles as assault weapons due to what are essentially cosmetic modifications (A.5280).

“The sad reality is that one political party and one viewpoint dominate the Assembly – the anti-Second Amendment voice of the downstate Democratic Majority. Upstate New Yorkers who oppose the NY SAFE Act ought to feel disenfranchised. This law is deeply flawed, and was passed in the middle of the night without input from law enforcement, mental health professionals or the public at large,” said Tom King, President of the New York State Rifle and Pistol Association (NYSRPA).

“The governor’s so-called SAFE Act infringes on the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding New Yorkers. This is not a Republican or Democrat issue, this is a state issue. We must recognize that downstate liberal special interests are hurting the citizens of this state,” Blankenbush said.