In the wake of a political battle that characterized 2017, it appears solutions for potentially improved and more affordable health care may be on the horizon.
While federal lawmakers bicker over the Affordable Care Act, three corporations are teaming up to resolve the issue for their employees. If the companies are successful in creating an effective health care system, it’s possible their idea could benefit all Americans.
Online retailer Amazon, holding company Berkshire Hathaway and bank JPMorgan Chase issued a press release Jan. 30 announcing plans to start an independent health care company. The statement provided little detail about the joint venture except that “the initial focus of the new company will be on technology solutions that will provide U.S. employees and their families with simplified, high-quality and transparent health care at a reasonable cost.” The hope is that it will balance rising health care costs with enhanced patient satisfaction and outcomes. The release also mentioned a desire to transition away from a profit-based health care system.
After the announcement of the initiative, stock prices of major health insurance companies dropped, and rightfully so. If it expands in the future, the new partnership may create much-needed competition in an arena fraught with overpricing, complicated procedures and an abundance of paperwork. Competition is always a good thing. It prevents medical costs from being controlled by just a handful of insurance providers, and in an important area like one’s health, everyone should have coverage options that will ensure
receiving the highest quality of care possible.
“The ballooning costs of [health care] act as a hungry tapeworm on the American economy,” said Berkshire Hathaway Chairman and CEO Warren Buffet.
The joint venture also creates opportunities for other employers to join forces with the giants, or attempt to come up with their own answers to provide better health care options for their workers.
But this isn’t the first time a corporation has become involved in health care. In December, CVS Health bought health insurance giant Aetna for $69 billion with a similar goal — to remake the consumer health care experience and build a health care platform around individuals.
In an era where many Americans fear that one accident or illness will drastically alter their financial future — because they can’t afford health insurance to assist with potentially high medical expenses — the idea that legitimate solutions are being sought is refreshing. What’s even more uplifting is that these companies understand the importance of their employees being able to afford health insurance and, in theory, politics will be held out of the discussion.
Considering all three corporations have enjoyed immense successes in their respective fields, the potential for innovative ideas from the three giants is exciting.
We look forward to seeing if the private sector can produce what elected officials were stuck in the mud trying to accomplish all of 2017.
As I write this column, Tuesday, I am thinking of the State of the Union address that President Trump is scheduled to give to Congress and the nation in the evening. What does each of us think about the state of the union at this time? Do we know enough about what’s happening in the country to offer a credible picture in this first month of the year 2018?
We know we have problems. Big problems, if you follow the newscasts. We have a Congress that people seem to agree is “broken,” and a president without precedent. We have an economy that is the largest in the world, yet our citizens are divided into those enjoying its fruits and the rest who have been left behind. We have a remarkable health care system that is not accessible for everyone. Our schools are uneven in their teaching, especially in subjects like math and science. We have to deal with racism, bigotry, sexism, ageism and lots of other “isms,” as well as gun violence, drugs, gangs, North Korea, Russia, the Taliban, you name them. It’s enough to addle the mind.
Then I think of the other side of the story, the story of what America means to me. When my grandchildren have their children, they will be sixth generation Americans. We are deeply rooted here in our country but not so much that we have forgotten how we got here and especially why we came. My father’s family arrived in the second half of the 19th century from Riga, the capital city of Latvia set on the Baltic Sea. We don’t know much about them except they were dairy farmers, and they managed to buy property and continue with that life after they landed and settled in Connecticut and upstate New York. My dad, the middle child of nine, left the farm for the big city when he was 14, got a job at the bottom of the ladder in a hardware store, lived in a boarding house in Brooklyn near his older brother, worked hard and for long hours, saved his pennies and ultimately started several hardware stores on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. It was about then that I came along, the middle child of three.
We know more about my mother’s side of the family. Her uncle, her mother’s brother, left the army in the Ukraine after a perilous stint at the beginning of the 20th century. He joined his uncle in Corona, Queens, who taught him how to use a sewing machine in a clothing factory. He realized he could earn more if he owned a machine and could hire himself out to the highest bidder, then understood he could do better still if he owned the factory. His four children all graduated from college, his daughters became teachers and his son served as a judge in the District and Criminal Courts of Suffolk County.
My mother’s grandparents and parents, alarmed at the unrest in their homeland in the first decade of the 20th century, followed the family chain, established themselves financially in New York City, and saw to it that their offspring were educated so that they might further contribute to society and share in its benefits.
This is the American Dream. This is the route that countless individuals and families followed for 400 years to reach their goals amid the freedom and security of the United States, Has that dream been achieved by everyone here in America? Certainly not, and the situations where people are chained to the past or even the present are heartbreaking. The national goal is to bring the American Dream to all living within our borders.
Except for Native Americans, we all started out as immigrants, foreigners in a foreign land, and those who came voluntarily — along with those who didn’t — aspired for more. Some came with more skills and resources, some with less. Some had supportive family networks, some arrived alone.
The American siren song still exists. The formula does work. I see it realized by people locally every day. For all the cynicism and the partisanship, whatever the shortcomings and injustices, this is still America.
On the day of the State of the Union, this is what America means to me.
From the podium at The Emporium in Patchogue Nov. 8, 2016 after his race against Anna Throne Holst (D-Southampton) was officially called and his near-20-point victory was secured, U.S. Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-Shirley) said he was looking forward to the opportunity to “make America great again.”
Zeldin has become synonymous with President Donald Trump (R) locally, and though he said during an exclusive interview with the Times Beacon Record News Media editorial board he still supports the president, just short of 10 months removed from his re-election, Zeldin also said he is not a “proxy” for Trump, or anyone else. During the 90-minute interview, the congressman preached bipartisanship, addressed the future of health care, discussed Trump’s Twitter account and inflammatory speeches like the one he made in Arizona Aug. 22, criticized the president for his response to the Charlottesville, Virginia, protest and addressed the state of his support for Trump going forward.
Zeldin celebrates his 2016 election night victory in Patchogue. File photo by Alex Petroski
“I don’t give anyone my proxy.”
Despite being a strong supporter of Trump during their parallel 2016 campaigns, Zeldin had a strong response when asked if the president had his unequivocal support.
“I don’t give anyone my proxy,” Zeldin said, though he did say he supports the president and wants him to be successful. He added if he had to vote for Trump again today, he ultimately would. “It’s not 2020, but if you asked me Aug. 25 of 2017 if I was casting a vote right now and he was running unopposed, yeah. If he was running against someone else and there was a compelling reason to go some other direction, then you factor into it.”
Zeldin pushed back on the perception of a large group of his constituents who believe he is the local embodiment of Trump. He cited several examples in which he has been critical of the president, including when Trump made a Holocaust remembrance statement that made no reference to Jewish people, or when he voted in line with many House Democrats against a bill that would roll back internet privacy protections, which Trump ultimately signed into law.
The congressman also reiterated a statement he has made publicly in the past, that the meeting between Donald Trump Jr., other members of the Trump administration and people with ties to the Russian government alleging they had damaging material on Hillary Clinton in June 2016 should have never taken place.
“If you really wanted to ask yourself, is this guy just going to be or has he been some proxy or some stooge who is refusing to say where he disagrees, you would have to ignore like 20 different examples where it’s not even taking my word for it, this is stuff that I’ve said on national TV,” Zeldin said. He surmised the perception he is too tightly connected to Trump comes from people who can’t wait for the day Trump is no longer in office.
Zeldin added although he disagreed with former President Barack Obama (D) on issues, at no point did he view him as anything other than his president.
“There are people who think nothing has gotten done.”
Zeldin pushed back on the idea that partisan gridlock, which has long characterized the country’s perception of Congress, is getting worse or is being amplified by Trump. He said bills are being passed and bipartisan discussions are being had everyday by members of the House.
“People have this perception that when the House is in session and we’re all on the floor together that it’s an old school Aaron Burr duel taking place amongst all members all the time,” he said. “Where everyone’s basically literally trying to kill each other on the floor.”
Zeldin said he isn’t going to sugarcoat it, or try to make the discussions sound all rosy. He pointed to the over 50 bills passed since Trump has taken office as proof of Republicans and Democrats working together to get things done.
He said these topics tend to get overshadowed by what is broadcasted on TV news.
“People get very discouraged when you put on the news and you’re only coming in contact with bad news,” Zeldin said. “It’s almost like [it’s] not even newsworthy to talk about what got done that day. What’s newsworthy is what may be the biggest, most dramatic confrontation or battle that might be going on. That’s the news everyday.”
He attributed heated political rhetoric and the notion Congress is struggling to work together to the business model of the three major 24-hour cable news stations — CNN, Fox News and MSNBC.
“The information they’re coming in contact with is deliberately targeting them to stir emotion, because that’s how they get traffic,” he said.
The congressman recalled several times when he was slated to do a cable news interview on a particular topic, which the president would be happy to see gain coverage, only to be asked questions about the investigations into Trump’s ties to Russia during the campaign because of a Tweet he sent moments before the interview.
He admitted the president has the power to steer the conversation in the right direction.
“There is no person in the United States of America with more of an ability to drive the conversation,” he said. “I don’t know of the last time we had an individual in the United States of America with a bigger soapbox than the president of the United States.”
U.S. Rep. Lee Zeldin calls for funding for two EPA programs relating to the Long Island Sound during a press conference March 13. Photo by Kevin Redding
“He’s willing to sign 50,000 different versions of this bill.”
Common ground exists between Republicans and Democrats on the future of the federal health care law, according to Zeldin, though he said he’s skeptical of the Senate’s ability to reach a majority on a replacement of the Affordable Care Act. At no point during the 90-minute conversation did the congressman use the phrase “repeal and replace,” though he discussed, at length, some of the issues with the individual market and what it would take to repair it in a way that works.
“Beyond partisanship there’s an ideological difference on the insurance piece, and what do you do with the ACA,” Zeldin said. “They just absolutely, genuinely to their core disagree on certain components of what direction [to go in].”
Zeldin was extremely critical of the process that led up to the ultimately failed Senate vote on health care and stressed the need to return to regular order.
The health care vote revealed three Republican senators as willing to oppose the president on major legislation. As a result of that vote and other circumstances in which Republican senators have spoken out against Trump, Zeldin encouraged the use of the president’s “bully pulpit,” like the way he spoke about Sen. John McCain (R-Arizona) and Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Arizona) during his trip to Phoenix Aug. 22.
When asked if the president is doing enough to grow his base of support rather than just appealing to those he already has in his camp, Zeldin was also critical.
“There are opportunities for him to do more to broaden that coalition,” he said.
He also indicated the president is prepared to compromise on a health care bill.
“He’s willing to sign 50,000 different versions of this bill,” Zeldin said.
“There is no moral equivalency.”
The congressman was most critical of the president on his response to the events in Charlottesville. He repeatedly stated there is no moral equivalency between marchers on the side of the KKK and Nazism and those who attended the rally to oppose hate, a point that was contradictory to statements Trump made publicly on the subject. Zeldin said he did agree though with the president’s point that members of the “alt-right” were not the only one’s who arrived at the Virginia rally for the purpose of inciting violence.
“If you are a good person showing up to that march and you realize once you get there that by being associated at all with that march that you are associating yourself in any way, shape, or form with the KKK or Nazism, a good person, immediately, instinctively completely disengages,” Zeldin said.
U.S. Rep Suozzi waves from the field during the game. Photo from Suozzi’s office
U.S. Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-Glen Cove) made his way to the dugout to play in the congressional bipartisan baseball game last Thursday, June 15. The game came one day after House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-Louisiana) was shot by a gunman, along with four others, during a practice just outside of Washington D.C.
Suozzi said the experience was very unique.
“To be one of only 20 players, and a freshman, on the Democrats congressional baseball team was an awesome experience,” he said in a statement. “After the shootings last Wednesday, the game took on a more important meaning, and the experience was truly humbling. Since day one I have talked about bipartisan cooperation and civility. It’s a shame it took a tragedy, but now it’s a part of the national conversation.”
Suozzi said he and his teammates first learned of the shootings at the Republican practice in Arlington, Virginia, around 7:30 a.m. Wednesday morning while the Democrats were practicing at Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C.
“After the initial shock, confirmation of the events and being instructed by police to shelter in place at the dugout, the entire Democratic team circled together and prayed for our Republican colleagues and the other victims,” he said.
Before Thursday night’s game, both teams kneeled at second base at Nationals Park, where Scalise was supposed to have played, in a show of bipartisan unity. Democrats and Republicans prayed for the victims and their families as well as to come together as one united Congress.
The game raised a record $1.5 million for charity and was attended by nearly 25,000 fans. This was the 80th game of a tradition dating back to 1909. Capitol Police officer David Bailey, who was injured in the attack, threw out the first pitch.
Suozzi said the show of unity was very important.
“I sincerely hope we use this unique opportunity to show the American people that we’re here to try and get things done — together as Americans,” he said.
Suozzi had a hard-hit line drive to the shortstop and a ground ball to the third baseman, leaving him 0 for 2.
“It was still a fantastic experience and I hope I get to play again next year,” he said.
The Democrats won the game 11-2, and following their victory gave this year’s trophy to the Republicans to place in Scalise’s office until he recovers.
“I will continue to pray for Steve, the injured officers and other victims, and for our country,” Suozzi said. “We have important work to do. The people are sick of politics and politicians, and we need to work together on these life and death issues and actually get things done — together.”
Congresman Zeldin addresses the audience at a town hall in Smithtown. Photo from Congressman Zeldin’s office.
By Victoria Espinoza
After calls for more public discussions and town hall meetings from constituents in New York’s 1st Congressional District, U.S. Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-Shirley) held three town halls this past Sunday. Some praised Zeldin for his patience dealing with “organized protestors,” while other attendees were still left wanting more dialogue with their representative.
Cindy Morris, a Stony Brook resident,attended Zeldin’s third and final town hall of the day at St. Patrick’s Church in Smithtown.
“We’ve [progressive groups] been working very hard asking him to meet with us in a public forum since November,” Morris said in a phone interview. “This was his first attempt and I felt it was important to attend, both to thank him and show this is not an attempt for political theater like he’s claimed, but for real dialogue.”
In a previous interview, Zeldin spokesperson Jennifer DiSiena said requesting a town hall with the purpose of disrupting it is wrong and wouldn’t be taken seriously.
“Congressman Zeldin will meet with any constituent interested in a productive, substantive exchange of ideas,” she said. “He is not interested in the type of political theater that this group of liberal obstructionists is interested in promoting.”
DiSiena was addressing Project Free Knowledge, a group who hosted a “mock” town hall in Port Jefferson in March which featured a Zeldin impersonator and little effort for an impartial discussion. However, Zeldin has referred to different forms of protests by constituents in his district similarly.
But Morris insisted this meeting was nothing like the mock town hall. Unlike the first two town halls held earlier that day, where she said attendees did not have an opportunity for audience interaction, she praised the Smithtown event for being well-organized, giving some audience members a chance to ask a question off the cuff, that hadn’t been screened.
“He’s our congressional representative, and the representative piece of that is the most important part of his title,” she said. “We wanted to give him an opportunity to let him know what our values are, what we’re looking for.”
Morris also said after watching the first two town halls on Facebook Live, she recognized sound bites Zeldin had used repeatedly that day.
“There was certainly some messaging,” she said. “Until he’s willing to have a real conversation with his constituents, I think that’s literally political theater.”
The event was hosted by Catholics for Freedom of Religion, and President Barbara Samuells said she thought the event went very well.
“People were able to do what the event was intended for,” she said in a phone interview. “They were able to come forward in an open environment and ask questions.”
Samuells said the environment was respectful and calm, unlike other town halls she has seen across the country, and a variety of different issues were discussed. She also commended Zeldin on his directness, saying he answered questions honestly.
Residents wrote on Zeldin’s Facebook page praising him for attending the meetings. Bob Voss, of Mastic, recognized the congressman’s effort.
“Thank you once again for making yourself available to your district constituents and the opportunity to express their concerns whether there is agreement or not on an issue,” he said. “Most important is the knowledge, skill and ability to listen as opposed to talk/yell which may have various motivations. In community forums like these and when [they are] done with mutual dignity and respect much can be accomplished other than shouting.”
But others agreed with Morris, saying the conversation was not as direct as they would have liked.
Nicolle Zeman, who attended the Riverhead town hall, wrote on a Facebook page called Let’s Visit Lee Zeldin, which is comprised of people urging Zeldin to hold town halls. Many are harsh critics of the congressman.
“There was lots of rambling, avoiding answering direct questions and self-serving monologues,” she said. Zeman asked Zeldin about President Donald Trump’s (R) possible tax plan to eliminate the head of household filing status, and said Zeldin instead “rambled,” on about tax reform in general, and when she pressed him on the specific elimination he couldn’t say definitively if he would support the elimination or not.
Zeldin was one of Trump’s first supporters on Long Island, however as of late he seems to be putting some space between himself and the commander-in-chief.
“He did say a couple of times that Trump needs to clean up the way he speaks, that he’s no longer a television host, he’s the president,” she said. “He’s trying to find ways to distance himself from Trump but he’s voting for the Trump agenda.”
Morris acknowledged Zeldin is committed to fighting cuts against the Environmental Protection Agency and funding to the Long Island Sound, which is the opposite stance of Trump, however he “stands strongly with him,” on immigration and financial issues.
FiveThirtyEight, a website focusing on poll analysis and politics, gave Zeldin a 96 percent score for how often he votes in line with the president’s position on house bills. But in the most recent house bill to repeal an FCC rule stopping internet service providers from sharing data of customer’s activities, Zeldin voted no — the opposite of Trump’s position. The bill had almost unanimous Republican support.
Morris also said Zeldin’s staff was helpful after the events, approaching them and getting their contact information to keep them informed.
“They asked us if we would stop protesting, we used the hashtag #WhereIsZeldin, and they said we found him here, there’s no more reason to use it,” Morris said. “But I told them we wouldn’t stop after a one hour moment.”
After the town halls Zeldin said he enjoyed meeting with the people of his district that day.
“It was such a pleasure to meet with so many great constituents at today’s town halls to hear concerns and answer questions,” he said. “At the community forums, we were able to cover a breadth of very important issues, including health care, the environment, foreign policy, economic growth, several local issues, and so much more. I am willing to work with absolutely anyone to move our country forward, no matter what your ideological background is, and I welcome any opportunity to engage in substantive, productive dialogue.”
This past weekend 1st Congressional District U.S. Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-Shirley) hosted town hall events in Riverhead, Farmingville and Smithtown. Ordinarily, an elected official meeting face to face with constituents shouldn’t be breaking news. When it comes to Zeldin, however, holding these town halls is noteworthy because of how hard some voters pleaded with him in the past few months to participate in an open forum as he did April 23.
Before these, he held a phone town hall, which left several constituents upset with the restricting nature of the conversation. Only a handful of questions could be asked, and were submitted prior to the phone call, with thousands listening in. And, of course, there was no face time.
We commend Zeldin for listening to the concerns of the people who elected him as their representative all day Sunday, knowing he would face many angry residents.
Firsthand accounts of the three meetings returned a mixed bag of reviews. Many were happy to have had the chance to hear Zeldin speak about issues important to them, though others were still unsatisfied because questions for some of the meetings were screened ahead of time and selected by moderators.
Holding three town halls was a great step by a congressman who is obviously liked in his district. Nearly 60 percent of the district selected Zeldin on Election Day. He proved he is capable of standing in front of a partially hostile crowd and contributing to a productive dialogue, while the 40 percent of voters who didn’t select him and have been behaving like “liberal obstructionists,” as Zeldin has dubbed them, proved they’re capable of participating in a civilized conversation completely devoid of danger to the congressman.
This was a first step by both sides, but more work is clearly left to be done before midterm elections in November 2018. Let’s keep the ball rolling and keep the dialogue open.
Freshman Congressman Lee Zeldin (R-Shirley) has done some admirable things for constituents of the 1st district. A veteran himself, with four years of active duty — including a deployment to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, and nine years in the Army Reserves — he has done a lot for Long Island veterans. He was also instrumental in the signing into law of an amendment that bears his name, allowing states to opt out of Common Core without fear that there will be any loss of federal funding as a result. That’s a victory for the nearly unanimous animus we’ve heard candidates express for the program this fall.
Challenger Anna Throne-Holst (D) was elected four times to the Southampton Town Board and, as town supervisor, fixed financial problems, streamlined the budget and put the reallocated funds to use improving quality of life for Southampton residents. And she did this while in the minority, working with Republicans. Now she hopes to bring that skill set to Congress and we’d like to see her do it.
These are both hard-working, dedicated politicians, but one aligns with our values and ideals better. Only Throne-Holst believes in background checks for gun purchasers, revamping the existing Affordable Care Act, protecting a woman’s right to choose and overturning Citizen’s United.
We endorse Anna Throne-Holst to be our next congressperson.
The congressional race between Tom Suozzi (D) and Jack Martins (R) in the 3rd district is an exciting one, with no incumbent and thus no clear front-runner.
After listening to both candidates, we were more impressed with Martins’ points of view and ideas to improve New York. While Martins is running on the Republican ticket, he was not afraid to stray from his party’s traditional ideologies, including his stance on the funding of Planned Parenthood, gun control reform and climate change. Martins described himself as a man in the middle, and we would agree. For example, while he is pro-life, Martins said he does not support defunding Planned Parenthood and believes intimate health decisions should not involve government officials. He has a proven record of bringing improvements to the area he served in the New York State Senate, and he also brought up some of the projects he was defeated on, showing that he understands the need to listen to a community when they don’t support ideas. We believe he would do the same for the 3rd Congressional District.
It’s also important to note Martins came into our office for an interview, and Suozzi was only able to speak on the phone, which is a less effective forum.
Suozzi also has a long record of public service, and he certainly understands the problems facing the district. He has some great ideas to improve New York, but when you can only chose one, we chose Martins.
Jack Martins, left, and Tom Suozzi, right, are both vying for the open congressional seat on the North Shore. Left photo by Victoria Espinoza; file photo right
By Rebecca Anzel
Both candidates running to succeed Rep. Steve Israel (D-Huntington) in the 3rd Congressional District agree the winner needs to be an agent of change, but State Senator Jack Martins (R-Mineola) and former Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi (D-Glen Cove) disagree about what that means.
Martins, a lawyer, spent eight years as mayor of Mineola and five years as the state senator from the 7th senate district. He said his record proves he is able to achieve meaningful change by working across party lines, making necessary decisions and leaving things more stable than he found them.
“You have to measure commitments by actions and results, and certainly my tenure speaks for itself and [Suozzi’s] tenure speaks for itself, and I think those are important distinctions,” Martins said. “Oftentimes, when it comes to my opponent, the problem is he’s more concerned with running for something else and taking that next step than he is about fixing the problems he was elected to fix.”
For Suozzi, an attorney and certified public accountant, it takes more than bipartisanship to solve issues the country has been struggling with for decades. He said during his seven years in office both as mayor of Glen Glove and Nassau County executive, he fought to “change the status quo” — even when that meant going against his party.
“I think that my experience has given me a skill set and a life experience that have trained me to actually get things done,” Suozzi said in a phone interview. “I’m the only candidate in this race that has a proven record of standing up to very powerful forces and fighting to get things done on behalf of the people I serve.”
Both candidates agree issues such as water quality and heroin use are concerns for Long Islanders.
Martins and Suozzi both said sewers would help curb the amount of harmful nitrogen leaching into Long Island’s water bodies from septic systems and cesspools. Martins prioritized Long Island’s drinking water and pushed the importance of a comprehensive study of its aquifer to be conducted and followed up with some regularity.
Suozzi focused on the Long Island Sound. He said the 3rd Congressional District is an important one in regard to the sound and to protect it, residents need to think about it differently.
“We need to try to promote the concept of the Long Island Sound as our national park, and we need to work on reducing the amount of nitrogen that goes into [the Long Island Sound] from stormwater runoff from everywhere,” he said.
Both candidates also agreed educating children early about the dangers of heroin and other drugs is important — but their plans differed. Martins said penalties need to be higher for sellers of heroin and addicts need to have a path to sobriety.
“It is a critical issue and we need to get our hands around it,” he said. “We have to increase penalties for the sale of these products while at the same time understanding we’re not going to incarcerate our way through this.”
Suozzi said the problem started with medical professionals prescribing too many opioids, and that needs to be tackled first, beyond the state registry.
The congressional hopefuls both commented that the national election should be more about issues and less about personal attacks and said they will be voting along party lines — Martins said he plans to vote for Donald Trump (R) and Suozzi for Hillary Clinton (D).
Members of Gays Against Guns protest against U. S. Rep. Lee Zeldin. Photo from Duncan Osborne
An anti-gun advocacy group put a North Shore lawmaker in its crosshairs over the weekend when members protested outside his office.
Gays Against Guns — a nonprofit organization made up of lesbian, gay and transgender people and others who believe in a ban of high-capacity magazine guns and assault weapons, stricter background checks and online gun sales — held a protest in Smithtown over the weekend.
The group said they chose to rally in front of the office of U.S. Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-Shirley) because they believe he is a “puppet” for the NRA and hasn’t worked enough to create legislation that effectively limits the use of guns.
Zeldin said protestors are not focusing on the real issue, which is preventing terrorists from getting firearms without limiting Americans’ constitutional rights.
Duncan Osborne, a member of Gays Against Guns, said he believes Zeldin doesn’t have an interest in regulating firearms. He also criticized Zeldin’s Protect America Act of 2015. The bill would grant the attorney general authority to deny firearms and explosives to individuals who are engaged in terrorist activities or where there is a reasonable belief that an individual may use a firearm or explosive in connection with terrorism.
“His piece of legislation is little more than a Band-Aid,” Osborne said in a phone interview. “He has made no serious effort to get it passed. His bill was a joke to make Republicans look like they’re doing something on gun regulation when in fact it is nearly impossible to implement.”
A member of Gays Against Guns holds up a puppet of U. S. Rep. Lee Zeldin during a protest. Photo from Duncan Osborne
Zeldin said the issue is being influenced by politics.
“It’s unfortunate that the Democratic Party and their most loyal supporters are politicizing this issue and [the] bill to keep firearms and explosives out of the hands of terrorists,” he said in an email, according to spokesperson Jennifer DiSiena.
When Zeldin first introduced the bill last year, he said the legislation would “help prevent terrorists from purchasing firearms or explosives, while putting in place safeguards to ensure that the rights of law abiding Americans are protected.”
According to Congress’ website, the bill was referred to the House Judiciary Committee in Dec. 2015, and then referred to the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations in Jan. 2016. The bill currently has 14 Republican co-sponsors.
Gays Against Guns also criticized Zeldin’s connections to the NRA, calling him a puppet for the organization, and the NRA his puppet master.
“We don’t think he belongs in Congress,” Osborne said. “He has no interest in regulating firearms.”
New Yorkers Against Gun Violence, another nonprofit organization that participated in the protest, agreed Zeldin should leave office.
“They’ve got to go if we’re ever going to pass the kind of meaningful gun regulation,” Executive Director of NYAGV Leah Gunn Barrett said in a statement.
DiSiena said Zeldin is fighting to support and protect his constituents.
“His positions are not for sale to anyone,” DiSiena said in an email. “If these disrupters want to actually keep Americans safe, they would work with Congressman Zeldin as opposed to launching highly partisan protests against him. These groups should unite behind Congressman Zeldin’s efforts if their genuine intentions are to keep terrorists from being able to purchase firearms.”
According to GovTrack, Zeldin was among the highest 10 percent of House Republicans joining bipartisan bills in 2015 and supporting progressive ideology.
In a previous interview, Zeldin spokesperson Jennifer DiSiena said requesting a town hall with the purpose of disrupting it is wrong and wouldn’t be taken seriously.
Prev
