On Tuesday, New York became the first state to pass gun legislation in response to the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in December. The measures include bans on assault weapons and magazines that hold more than 7 bullets, and a requirement that gun owners in homes with mentally ill people must properly lock up their firearms.
Though these new laws are immensely popular among New York voters, Texas attorney general Greg Abbott (R) has extended an open invitation to any New Yorkers who feel threatened by the new gun violence protection measure. Abbott launched an Internet ad campaign targeting New Yorkers shortly after Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D-NY) signed the law.
The provocative web ads, paid for with Abbott campaign funds, will appear as a pop-up on screens on a variety of media web sites, including that of The New York Times, for those accessing the sites in Manhattan and Albany.
“Is Gov. Cuomo looking to take your guns? Sick of the media outing law abiding gun owns? Are you a lawful NY gun owner seeking lower taxes?” reads one of two pop-up ads.
A second reads: “Wanted: Law abiding New York gun owns looking for lower taxes and greater opportunity.”
Click on either and you are directed to a Facebook second amendment petition page with the greeting: “You’ll fit right in here in Texas!”
The Facebook page boasts that New Yorkers who move to Texas will be able “to keep more of what you earn and use some of that extra money to buy more ammo.”
Abbott’s campaign may not attract many New York defectors. A new poll found that 73 percent of New York voters supported the ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines. A full 91 percent support stricter penalties on purchasing illegal guns or using guns on school property. Even New York’s Republican state senators supported the new laws, passing it by a margin of 43 to 18.
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