Gov. Hochul was endorsed Wednesday by Brady PAC, a campaign arm of the gun control group Brady, as she works to retain her seat and rebuff a November general election challenge from Rep. Lee Zeldin, a Long Island Republican.
Hochul, a moderate Democrat from Buffalo who once had the support of the National Rifle Association, has emerged as one of the nation’s most aggressive governors on gun control.
She pushed a package of strict gun bills through the Legislature in the spring after the racist mass shooting in May that left 10 dead in her hometown.
And she signed a package of laws this month tightening state gun rules after the Supreme Court struck down a century-old state law limiting concealed carry handgun licenses to New Yorkers with specific self-defense needs.“We can’t build safer communities, safer states, or a safer nation without common sense gun safety laws,” Hochul said in a statement. “The Brady PAC is committed to this work and I am honored to receive this endorsement.”
Brady PAC formed in 2018 ahead of that year’s midterm elections.
On its website, the group says it supports candidates who back “common-sense gun violence prevention legislation,” including universal background checks and a reenactment of the nation’s assault weapons ban, which expired in 2004.
Zeldin, a lawyer and loyal backer of former President Donald Trump, rejoiced in the Supreme Court’s gun ruling, even as opinion polling indicated about 80% of New York Republicans opposed the decision. The congressman has an A rating from the NRA.
Fred Guttenberg, a Brady PAC adviser whose daughter died in the 2018 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., said Zeldin “seems to pursue measures that guarantee more gun violence and more dead New Yorkers.”
Guttenberg had warmer words for Hochul, saying she is “doing tremendous work to ensure the safety of New Yorkers.”
“She needs to be reelected,” Guttenberg said.
