Gillibrand's Gun Gaffe
February 19th, 2009
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand shared too much information earlier this week when telling a Newsday reporter that she keeps two rifles under her bed. Gillibrand told the reporter, “If I want to protect my family, if I want to have a weapon in the home, that should be my right.”
An aid later told the paper Gillibrand has taken “gun safety procedures to ensure family safety.” The aid did not specify exactly what sort of procedures were taken.
Gillibrand has done her best to distance herself from her conservative stances and prove she is ready for prime time since being named to the Senate by Gov. David Paterson last month. The gun flap did not help on either front.
News quickly spread that Gillibrand, a mother of two, had removed the rifles (which she says were not loaded) from under her bed after gun-control activists loudly questioned her judgement.
Fred Lebrun, of the Times Union, muses on how much of a gaffe Gillibrand actually made, here.
Meanwhile talk of primary opponents vying for Gillibrand’s seat that began before she was even officially named to the position is not slowing down.
Liz Benjamin has the latest on possible opponents from the left. And the AP is now reporting that state Republicans are pushing for former Gov. George Pataki to mount a challenge on the Republican ticket.
By David King on February 19, 2009, 5:14 pmIn category: Albany, Eye on Albany | 1 Comment »


February 20th, 2009 at 1:43 pm
Gillibrand is Paterson’s choice for interim replacement of Hillary Clinton as Senator for New York. Gillibrand has somehow earned a Number One rating from the NRA. She recently boasted about keeping rifles under her bed in case she needed to protect her family. Good grief. What responsible mother with young children keeps rifles in easy reach of her kids? The woman is obviously a complete idiot about weapons, and is just sprouting stupid media sound bites that appeal to the NRA political gun lobby and it’s political fundraising machine.
Sorry Gillibrand. You are such a hypocrite. Keeping rifles under your bed is no way to keep your family safe. It is far more likely that your children will innocently find these weapons under your bed.
Come on Kirsty. Have a look at the documented research on gun tragedies in innocent families.