NY Governor Kathy Hochul on Assault Weapons and Mass Shootings

Deadly Mass Shooting in NYC

• 🎯 A man with an assault weapon entered a midtown Manhattan office building and killed four people, marking the deadliest mass shooting in the city in 25 years.
• 💡 Investigators believe the gunman may have intended to target the NFL headquarters, but ended up killing a Blackstone employee and himself.
• 💔 Among the victims were senior director Wesley LePatner and off-duty NYPD officer Didarul Islam, who was working security.

Governor Hochul's Stance on Gun Control

• ⚠️ Governor Kathy Hochul attributes the tragedy to the presence of assault weapons in the country, stating they are designed for battlefields, not cities.
• 🚫 She highlights New York's strict gun laws, which prohibit the purchase of such weapons within the state, contrasting them with looser laws in states like Nevada.
• 🗣️ Hochul calls for national action and uniform gun laws across all states, criticizing Republicans in Congress for being intimidated by the gun lobby.
• 📜 She advocates for the reinstatement of a national assault weapons ban, similar to one that existed for ten years and expired under President Bush.

Calls for Action and Political Commentary

• ✊ Hochul criticizes politicians who claim to be tough on crime but are soft on guns, urging for political courage to address the issue.
• 💔 She draws parallels to the 2022 Buffalo supermarket shooting, where a similar weapon was used in a racially motivated attack.
• 🛡️ Regarding building security, Hochul argues that even with an off-duty police officer present, it's nearly impossible to stop someone intent on mass murder, shifting the focus to the weapon itself.
• 🗣️ Responding to political attacks, Hochul dismisses them as pathetic deflection and emphasizes her focus on governing and implementing tough gun laws to protect New Yorkers.
• 💰 She highlights significant investment in law enforcement funding in New York, stating that crime rates are dropping dramatically.

Grieving and Moving Forward

• 🙏 Hochul expresses empathy for the victims' families, including a new baby on the way who will never know their father, and emphasizes the need for compassion and action over politics.
• 🇺🇸 She calls on Congress to act, using this tragedy as an example of how weapons of mass destruction destroy lives, and expresses hope for a national awakening on the issue.
• 📞 The White House has been briefed, and Governor Hochul has been in contact with them, though she has not directly spoken with the President yet.