The New York State Supreme Court has ruled in favor of opponents of Gov. Cuomo’s NY SAFE Act for the second time in less than two months. The Shooters Committee on Political Education, or SCOPE, has been seeking documents and records pertaining to the law pushed through in 2013.
According to court papers filed in Albany County, SCOPE wanted to know if the governor’s lawyers “concocted a special regulation designed to suppress protestors’ right to use toy guns in exercise of their First Amendment rights.”
The Cuomo administration initially refused to hand over requested documents, citing attorney-client privilege. However, in a ruling last month, acting state Supreme Court Justice Michael Melkonian said the administration should provide correspondence from prior to the April 1, 2014, rally during which police confiscated two protest signs that looked like weapons. The governor’s office is likely to appeal the latest court decision.
