To the Editor:

Thank you, Governor Cuomo, for the SAFE [Secure Ammunition and Firearms Enforcement] Act. Unfortunately, Congress has not had the courage to consider such legislation.

We have had another mass shooting, this time at Umpqua Community College in Oregon, after Aurora, Sandy Hook Elementary School, Charleston, Virginia Tech, and so many others.   Check out the statistics for the number of mass shootings in the past year.  It will astound you.

Mass shootings have become a regular part of American life.   How long will we allow the National Rifle Association and the gun lobby to pay off Congress to block passage of reasonable national gun-control laws?

It is time to vote out representatives who refuse to listen and have sold their political souls to gun lobby money.  Most Americans support at least background checks, which Congress refuses to consider.

Even the New York SAFE Act has limitations when a weapon can be purchased in neighboring states with lax gun laws. It is time to take down the “Repeal the SAFE Act” signs from lawns and put energy into supporting legislation for national gun control!       

Richard Ronconi

Berne