ALBANY — Pro-gun GOP lawmakers are smoking mad that they voted for millions of dollars in funding for the SAFE Act — the state’s strict gun-control law — claiming they didn’t know the spending was hidden in state budget bills.
As part of the newly adopted state budget, legislators approved the reappropriation of $28 million to fund a gun database and another $3.2 million in new money for SAFE Act staff.
Two GOP senators blasted the maneuver.
“We were told there was no funding for it. If there was, I would have voted against it,” said one senator, who requested anonymity.
Several Assembly GOP lawmakers said they knew only about the gun-law funding after a state Budget Division briefing.