NYSRPA experiences extraordinary increase in new memberships

ALBANY, NY (06/04/2014)(readMedia)-- The New York State Rifle and Pistol Association (NYSRPA) is proud to announce that its membership has nearly doubled since the passage of the so-called NY SAFE Act. NYSRPA President Tom King stated, "Our membership has increased from ~22,000 to 41,000+ individual members in the space of one year. This is an extraordinary jump and when you factor in the clubs and other organizations that are also members we are a force to be reckoned with." King noted that NYSRPA, already the nation's oldest National Rifle Association (NRA) state affiliate, is now the largest, surpassing the Texas affiliate. King, an NRA board member, said he looks forward to drawing attention to this when he meets with his Texas colleagues at the next NRA board meeting.

King cites the passage of the NY SAFE Act as the primary reason for the exponential increase in membership. "The NY SAFE Act is one of the most egregious assaults ever perpetrated on the Constitutional Rights of New Yorkers and people are fed up. I would point out that the governor recently said that advocates for the Second Amendment, traditional marriage, and the right to life, have forfeited their right to residency in this state. This is simply outrageous, and while we are strictly a Second Amendment advocacy organization, I can appreciate other organization's consternation at such hubris."

The NYSRPA is currently in the process of litigating against the NY SAFE Act. "We had a recent decision in the Western NY federal judicial district that bodes well for our cause. The court ruled that the seven round limit on magazine capacity violated the Second Amendment and this decision has left the door open for a favorable ruling in the U.S. Supreme Court," said King. "NYSRPA has already spent over $450,000 in legal fees and is prepared to bear whatever cost is required to defeat the NY SAFE Act. To quote the great Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. 'we shall overcome'."