Rice talks gun control

Members of the South Merrick Community Civic Association recently welcomed U.S. Rep. Kathleen Rice to a meeting, at which gun control became a heated point of discussion, among other issues.

SMCCA President Joe Baker invited Rice to the civic group’s Aug. 23 meeting to discuss a variety of issues, but gun control took center stage. Rice, 51, who represents the 4th Congressional District, is up for re-election in November, and is running against Republican David Gurfein, a decorated Marine Corps Reserve veteran, who could not be reached for comment.

Rice served as Nassau County district attorney from 2006 through 2014, and before that was a federal prosecutor. She assumed her congressional seat in January 2015, after winning election in November 2104.

“I’m not here to make a political speech,” Rice told a full house at the Town of Hempstead’s Merrick Road Park golf clubhouse. “I’m here to talk about the issues that are important to you, to the American people.”

“Why are people allowed to buy assault weapons?” asked a resident who identified herself only as Rickie. “If you’re not in the military, why do you need to buy an AK-47?”

From there, the discussion began.

Rice, a Democrat, is an outspoken supporter of gun-control laws. “I have great friends who are hunters. I skeet-shoot myself,” she said. “They wouldn’t let you on a hunting trip anywhere out in Suffolk County or anywhere across the nation with an assault weapon. They wouldn’t let you hunt. So what’s the point of having an assault weapon?”

Rice, who shares the same passion for gun control laws as her predecessor, Rep. Carolyn McCarthy, said she wished she had been able to close the gun show loophole this year.

The loophole, often called the Brady Law loophole, allows merchants and private gun owners to sell firearms on the Internet or at gun shows without conducting background checks of unlicensed buyers. Too many Americans believe that background checks are required for all firearm purchases, Rice said, but that is not the case.

“When you go to a private gun show, they don’t conduct background checks, and online sellers are not required to do this either, so it’s a huge loophole that would really bring the law up to where the American people think it is,” Rice said. “It’s making sure that those people that shouldn’t have guns don’t get one. That’s it. This is not a Second Amendment, ‘Oh my God they’re trying to take our guns away’ issue. It’s just not.”

After the Pulse Nightclub mass shooting in Orlando, Fla., in June, Rice, along with two dozen fellow Democratic members of Congress, staged a gun-control sit-in in mid-June to call for stricter gun laws. “I’ve held the hands of too many grieving mothers and fathers to just stand by while Congress refuses to do anything to address gun violence,” she said in a statement during the sit-in. “It’s unconscionable to continue doing nothing when we have common-sense bipartisan bills that we know would help prevent gun violence.”

Rice’s opponent, Gurfein, of Manhasset, describes himself as a “local family man, decorated Marine Corps combat vet, Harvard MBA, excited to serve our county again” on his campaign website, GurfeinForAmerica.com.

“I only met him once. He seems like a lovely person,” Rice said. “He has a wife and daughter and certainly served our country in a way that I didn’t. I didn’t wear the uniform. So he deserves recognition for that. And I believe the American people deserve a choice. I also believe I’ve earned the right to be re-elected.”

Baker later told the crowd that the SMCCA provides a platform for community members to voice their concerns and opinions, especially about issues that directly affect them.

“It’s all about freedom of speech at these meetings,” said David Zwerin, department commander of the Merrick Jewish War Veterans. “If we don’t voice our opinions with political figures hearing us out, then what good does it do for us?”

Community members later asked Rice what resources are available to reduce the number of “zombie homes” in Merrick, with one located just blocks away, at Clubhouse and Alexis roads. “This home was really just an eyesore,” Baker said. “It could easily be rehabilitated and rented out so it doesn’t go to waste.”

Rice stressed that several programs were put in place after Superstorm Sandy in 2012 to limit the number of zombie homes. “My office is partnering with Nassau County to host a mortgage modification fair on Sept. 24 to help homeowners pay their mortgage and reduce the risk of losing their homes that later become these so-called zombie homes,” she said.

She also cited State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman’s Zombie Remediation and Prevention Initiative, which helps combat the spread of uninhabited homes. According to a news release from Schneiderman’s office, the program will provide $13 million in grants to local governments across New York through an application process. For more information, visit www.ag.ny.gov.