If a church anywhere in the state
is going to give away a gun - it would be in Troy.
That’s why we call them “Only in
Troy” moments.
At first glance, I thought it was
a raffle that would certainly raise more money for the Grace Baptist Church than
an ice cream social or spaghetti dinner but there won’t be any tickets sold.
Rather, names of people at the March 23 service will be put in a hat and the
winner drawn at random.
Also, at first glance, I thought
it was an AR-15 since that’s what’s on the flyer that was sent to people across
the Capital District. But the gun donated by Brian Olsen, proprietor of the
Oakwood Trading Post, is an MSR, or Modern Sporting Rifle. I don’t know the
difference except the AR-15 is the controversial weapon ostracized after Sandy
Hook and other high profile mass murders.
The pastor, John Koletas, told the
Times Union he is just standing up for a person’s Second Amendment rights –
which have also come under fire in part by Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s NY SAFE Act. He
is also no stranger to controversy, as mentioned in the Times Union as well.
One of the speakers on March 23 is
Assemblyman Steve McLaughlin, who has been a vocal opponent of the SAFE Act and
one of the loudest Republican critics of Cuomo in the state.
McLaughlin was toying with the
idea of taking on Cuomo until reality set in – that there is no way an
Assemblyman from Melrose could raise the kind of money needed and that few
people know his name outside of Albany’s cocoon and his district.
Now that Westchester County
Executive Rob Astorino has announced his intent to take on Cuomo in November,
McLaughlin could be picked as lieutenant governor. Astornio needs a bomb
thrower and McLaughlin has shown he is not afraid to throw some bombs at the
governor. Plus, news outlets across the state seem to like the ex-airline pilot
and routinely turn to him for the other side of the story or an anti-governor
quote.
Whether or not he will be offered
the number two slot or if he even takes it if offered is up in the air. While
he does bring snappy anti-Cuomo rhetoric to the table an upstate Assemblyman is
not a conduit to a bunch of cash. And, if it’s offered and he takes it, he has
to give up his Assembly seat.
If he doesn’t go for lieutenant
governor or it’s not offered, he is certainly positioning himself as one of the
leaders in the state Republican Party.
