ALBANY, NY — Governor Andrew Cuomo, who quickly got the SAFE Act passed overnight a few years ago, has sided with a recent waiver granted to a commissioner that now allows that person to carry his firearm in state office buildings. State employees are prohibited from carrying firearms on property unless given this special waiver.
The Commissioner, Jerome M. Hauer, is the same person who used his firearm’s laser as a pointer during a meeting with Swedish delegation.
The new waiver was quickly given on Friday, but many employees have said that Hauer has carried his firearm on state office property for years.
Despite the lack of a waiver before January, several witnesses said he has been carrying a gun on the job since Cuomo appointed him in 2011.
People have seen Hauer with his gun on him in state buildings, including 633 Third Ave. in Manhattan, where the governor has offices, and at division headquarters at the Harriman campus in Albany.
Long story short, it would seem that Hauer was breaking the law prior to being granted the waiver. If I had stepped foot inside a state office building with my firearm and someone had known, I would have been arrested. That’s simply because I don’t hold the ‘status’ that Mr. Hauer possesses.
The law is for us, not them.
Even worse is the knowledge of the SAFE Act itself, the creation of Cuomo and Co. Giving special treatment to ‘important’ employees isn’t new, and it’s disgusting that it happens on a regular basis while the law-abiding citizens –and employees– are left out in the cold.
I imagine that Hauer is also able to own magazines that hold more than 10 rounds, even though he is not a member of law enforcement.
Using a firearm as a pointer during a meeting seems irresponsible to me, but I guess that’s just my opinion based upon my own standards. To Cuomo, this seems perfectly acceptable, and should not be grounds for denying a waiver to carry on typically forbidden property.
Ah well. And so it goes.
