NORWICH – Assemblyman and Democratic candidate for New York's 22nd congressional district seat Anthony Brindisi (D – Utica) held a town hall discussion at the Norwich Family YMCA on Wednesday night, where attendees asked the candidate questions relating to his stance on issues such as gun control, the struggling agriculture industry, tax reform, the opioid crisis, border security, and more.
Roughly 100 people attended the meeting as Brindisi introduced himself as a candidate who vows to listen to his constituents regardless of their political party––should he be elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in November.
"I think regardless of political party we're all pretty sick and tired of the politics that's happening in Washington, D.C., and we're sick and tired of people on the extremes really driving the conversation," said Brindisi. "We want to get back to a place where we have more people who can actually get things done."
Gun control
After introducing himself, Brindisi invited attendees to ask him questions. The first question pertained to Brindisi's plan on gun control. The speaker noted that Brindisi was among the few Democrats who voted against the SAFE Act, but expressed concern Brindisi was attending rallies for organizations opposed to the second amendment. He asked, "If you're elected to Congress, will you ban AR-15s?"
Brindisi initially responded yes, but clarified on Thursday he was just acknowledging the end of the question and not responding he would ban AR-15s. Brindisi clarified he does not plan to ban AR-15s.
Brindisi said he thinks there needs to be common sense gun reform to expand background checks, and implied something should be done about the smuggling of firearms into New York State from other states with more lax requirements to obtain a firearm.
Brindisi said he supports the second amendment, and added, "I'm not so much on bans. I think what we have to do is [consider] how do we keep guns out of the hands of criminals, how do keep guns out of the hands of the violently mentally ill, how do we keeps guns out of the hands of people who are convicted of domestic violence?"
On struggling farmers
Another speaker said they were a struggling dairy and beef farmer, and he would like to know what Brindisi would do about the price of milk and beef. "Because rural America is a fabric of our community and it's just ripping. And no one in D.C. seems to have an answer at all," said the farmer.
Brindisi responded Congress needs to speak up against big corporations like Walmart, and provide a louder voice for small and medium farms in Washington, D.C. He said that New York's economy is reliant on agriculture as its number one industry. "Not only is it going to put the farm out of business, it's going to have a ripple effect through the entire community," he said.
