[Alabama Shooter]

Signed, Sealed, Delivered:

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/16/ny...%2Findex.jsonp

“We have some of the toughest gun laws in the country, and this just strengthens them,” Mr. Bloomberg told reporters in New York. “It fills in loopholes, and it expands it, as the society’s needs have changed, and the dangers have changed to all of us.”

During the Assembly debate, which lasted five hours, a number of Republicans criticized both its content and the lack of public hearings or other public process for considering the proposals.

One Republican assemblyman, Marc W. Butler, whose Mohawk Valley district includes workers at the Remington Arms plant in Ilion, said the measure “tramples on the constitutional rights of our constituents.” Another, David DiPietro, who represents a rural district in western New York, said his office had received 430 e-mails and text messages from constituents opposed to new gun restrictions — and none in support.

And Assemblyman Steven Katz, a Hudson Valley Republican, said Mr. Cuomo should not have pressured lawmakers to act so quickly. Tuesday was only the second day of the 2013 legislative session.

“Why are we being bullied into voting on this bill without our proper, responsible due diligence?” Mr. Katz asked. “Solely due to the governor’s misguided, egotistic notion that this will advance his presidential aspirations.”

But Assemblyman Joseph R. Lentol, a Brooklyn Democrat and sponsor of the bill, said, “We believe that it’s up to us to lead the way.”

And Assemblyman Thomas J. Abinanti, a Westchester County Democrat, said: “It’s taken far too many deaths to get us to this point. The Second Amendment does not guarantee the right to bear arms to kill innocent firefighters, teachers and children, and that’s the message we have to send.”

It is for the Children.