In 2015 at the Mayor's Office in Rochester, Governor Andrew Cuomo signed the SAFE Act into law, which has dehumanized most New Yorkers, disallowed even the most trustworthy of gun owners to own a gun without interference, and has allowed crime to go up (especially in the City of Rochester - which recently had the most violent year in the city's history), with most gun-related crimes increasing - proving that the SAFE Act has not been effective at reducing violence. Everyone wants to ensure guns are regulated kept out of the wrong places and that guns are not used for the wrong reasons - especially after incidents such as Parkland, Columbine, a Movie Theater in Colorado, Pulse in Florida, among others, but everyone wants to also ensure that their 2nd amendment rights are protected in the comfort of their own homes, within their own occupations, and when hunting for sports or recreational purposes. As with other amendments and rights enshrined in the Constitution, the 2nd amendment is the supreme law of the land, and it should never be up to anyone to decide on what gun laws are for whom, and how they are applied, other than those who commit crimes.

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When in Office, here's how we solve the problem:

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1. I will create new legislation that will override any law that impedes law-abiding gun owners and protects the 2nd amendment in its entirety (including the SAFE Act).

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2. Under new legislation, all Frontline Workers will be protected as part of Coronavirus-era acknowledgement. As such, Frontline Workers will have their own law - including Police, Firefighters, EMTs, certain grocers, Nurses, Doctors, and others. As such, any person who use a gun to kill a Frontline Worker will receive 25 years if there is no bruise, 50 years if a bruise is proven, and life without parole if a convict kills any Frontline Worker.

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3. All legal gun owners and law-abiding citizens - with respect to the 2nd amendment - will be obligated to submit to a simple, seconds-long history check by ways of identification when purchasing a gun at the point-of-sale. Those who have a history of illegal gun use or violence would be placed on a public registry (similar to sex offender registries and Megan's Law), meaning that anyone can be denied the right to own or purchase any gun for a time allotted depending on risk level. Mental Health and Disabilities (which is currently codified under NYS law) would not render denial - rather convictions and information that is verified as a credible threat to others will be taken into account within a background check. An extremely clean record, no matter the circumstances or the lack thereof, does not deny any person the right to bear arms.

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Tier levels are inspired by the "coin" system (Penny, Nickel, Dime, and Quarter)

Level 1: Up to one year

Level 2: Five Years

Level 3: 10 Years

Level 4: 25 Years

Level 5: Life

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Level 1: An adult who commits any crime or breaks any law that does not involve a weapon, or a victim varies. In the case of minor convictions and civil offenses, no registration would be required. An adult who uses a gun to self-defend per the 2nd amendment if their lives or property, or the lives and property of others are a risk would not be on the registry. But if a person uses it under the guise of self-defense when in reality, it was not and it was intentional, it would be a low-level risk. In this case, the adult would not be able to have a gun for one year.

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Level 2: An adult who uses a gun to commit a misdemeanor crime less than three times would be an elevated risk. This would result in not having a gun for five years.

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Level 3: An adult who uses a gun to commit a misdemeanor crime three or more, but less than six would result in a medium risk, meaning not having a gun for a minimum 10 years.

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Level 4: An adult who uses it for certain crimes that results in a felony, not involving injury, death, terror, or domestic incidents would classify as a high risk and not be eligible for a gun for a minimum of 25 years.

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Level 5: An adult who uses it for murder, terrorism, kidnapping, sex offenses, or domestic violence (including any mass shooting such as the Buffalo TOPS mass shooting) would be an extreme risk and would result in being forbidden from purchasing or having a gun for life.

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In the case of all examples, unlike sex offender registration (where it takes effect after a convicted sex criminal registers after being released), registration begins after being convicted and sentenced, and such gun offender registration takes effect on the same day as their official sentencing. Gun offender information would consist of the same information found on sex offender registries such as their name, DOB, sex, tier level, race, ethnicity, height, weight, hair color, eye color, mugshot, address, county, conviction information (including date of the crime, date convicted, victim information, the arresting agency, relationship to the victim, the type of weapon used (such as a gun, a knife, or other object), the location where the gun was purchased, history of gun purchases, if the gun offender was sentenced to time in prison, etc. Registration as a gun offender lasts during the entire sentence plus the length of the tier level upon release, in other words, a prisoner would serve the entire length of the sentence plus "x" amount of years per the tier level upon completion of imprisonment and/or parole as a gun offender. Unless registration lasts for life, registration will remain public until the end of their sentence, but will remain part of their record, including when accessing information during a background check. While those who complete their registration term will be eligible to purchase, businesses will have full discretion on whether to sell or not.

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Example 1 Consequence: Samuel was driving on I-490 on route to a hunting trip in the Finger Lakes. He was going 75 mph on a 55 mph speed limit. While surrounding drivers were speeding and while he did this before, he was unfortunately caught by the New York State Police. As he was stopped, the trooper noticed a gun in the car. Samuel, however, cooperated with the trooper, followed directions, and was a law-abiding gun owner that was not registered as a gun offender. In fact, he had a very clean record. After showing up to court and paying the fine, he did not have to register as a gun offender. Meanwhile, his sister, Samantha, is arrested for disorderly conduct for fighting at a restaurant and serves only 10 days in jail. Both would not have to register as gun offenders since these offenses were either civil ordinances or very small misdemeanors. Finally, his 17-year-old cousin is arrested for possessing and drinking beer one week before his 18th birthday and shows up to court after turning 18. Being that his cousin was a minor and committed a status offense, the newly legal adult would not have to register as a gun offender.

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Example 2 Consequence: Paula, a caring mother who does not want to see her children hurt, uses a gun to defend. However, Paula did not give any verbal warning to the invader to stop or leave, nor did she put any sign on her property giving clear warning. Although she did her best to protect herself, she did not give adequate warning to the invader, and was intentional per se. Therefore, Paula cannot have a gun for less than one year, but not less than one month (judge would have discretion).

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Example 3 Consequence: John is sentenced for nine months on either of the first two offenses, and his brother commits six misdemeanors. John cannot have a gun for five years and nine months, his brother cannot have a gun for 10 years and nine months.

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Example 4 Consequence: Debra commits a felony (other than murder, terrorism, or other offense that does not result in death), and the adult is sentenced to 10 years, the adult cannot have access to a gun for 20 years (10 year sentence, 10 year registration).

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Example 5 and 6 Consequences: A man named Juan commits murder in the neighborhood and his wife, Maria, launders money, but Maria does not inflict physical injury or death among anyone in the process. His son, Marco, commits domestic violence against his girlfriend Caroline, and his sister, Susana, sexually assaults a child. In the case of Juan, Marco, and Susana, it would result in lifetime registration no matter the length of the sentence. In all cases, even if released, they would be forbidden to own or possess a gun for life. In the case of Maria, it would result in gun offender registration for the entire length of prison plus 25 years.

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4. As part of the Adult Act if enacted, anyone in the United States may purchase a gun at 18 years old, effectively lowering New York State's gun purchasing law raised due to the TOPS mass shooting in Buffalo. Minors would require a permit and adult supervision when using a gun for certain purposes. However, any adult can be denied the right to own or purchase a gun if on a national registry.

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5. New Stand-Your-Ground legislation will allow residents and businesses nationwide, no matter the state law, to use lethal force if there is an act of genuine violence, a major threat, or sexual abuse and/or kidnapping involving a child in progress. Those who take advantage must meet a strict criteria (to protect life of anyone or a the interests of a life of a child) to be protected from prosecution and must not use it on those who have not inflicted - or have the intention to not inflict - body harm or potential homicide. As such, using such force on those who take property or commit a simple assault would not automatically qualify for such criteria that would result in gun offender registration.

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The goal is to identify why gun violence increases and how to turn such rate around. It means that, while respecting a legal gun owner's right, using laws "just because" will not decrease gun violence. It means that not categorizing one group over another, and using discretion, along with simple background checks without restrictions on concealed carry other actions protected under the constitution will create a common-ground approach to the issue.