2nd Amendment Rally
Delayed; 2AS Group
Preparing Petitions
By JIM KEVLIN • Special to www.AllOTSEGO.com
LAURENS – Due to the Coronavis threat and Governor Cuomo’s restrictions on gatherings, the Otsego County Second Amendment Rally planned this Sunday at the VFW Post 1417 on Ellis Road has been postponed, according to Pat Brockway.
Meanwhile, the 2AS group seeking to have the county declared a sanctuary where the SAFE Act would not be enforced is continuing to compile petitions, and by March 27 hopes to have signatures verified and ready to be presented to the county Board of Representatives at its April 1 meeting.
The wife of county Rep. Rick Brockway, R-Laurens, who has been championing the 2AS movement, Pat said when regulations limited gatherings to 50 attendees, the organizers realized the rally was untenable. (The limit is now down to 10.)
Even if held outside, it would have been hard to guarantee 6 feet could be maintained between attendees. “We didn’t want anybody to be jeopardized,” said Brockway, the recently retired Laurens town supervisor.
The Brockways alone collected 800 signatures on their petitions, said Pat, and the expectations are that thousands of people have signed on to the sanctuary movement, which was spurred when Virginia’s newly elected Democratic legislature declared it would push through “common sense” run laws after taking a majority last November.
Opponents of the 2As movement presented a counter-petition at the county board’s March 3 meeting.
With the regulations in place during the health threat, it unclear if Garrett deBlieck of Unadilla, who is now leading the 2AS campaign, will actually be able to present the petitions in person, Brockway said.
The county board may meet virtually, through something like Zoom, or may limit attendees if the meeting is actually convened at 197 Main St. in Cooperstown, she said.
“We don’t think it’s going to be open to the public even if they do have it in Cooperstown,” she said.