By JACQUELINE DURETT
Correspondent
SOUTH AMBOY — Mayor Fred Henry made his stance on the controversial national topics of gun-purchasing laws and drug culture known at a recent City Council meeting.
Prompted most recently by the nightclub shooting in Orlando, in which a gunman with an assault weapon killed 49 people, Henry pointed out that people can’t take a water bottle, a snow globe, four ounces of facial cream or an aerosol can on an airplane.
“Yet you can buy a military assault weapon such as the one used last week to kill 49 innocent people in Orlando,” he said on June 15, adding that he wanted to see Congress ban weapons that are designed “to kill people and to kill them at a shocking rate.”
Henry directed his call to action to lawmakers. “Why can’t Congress pass laws for reasonable background checks?” he asked. “How many massacres must happen before meaningful laws are enacted? If we can ban these simple objects from planes, why can’t we ban something that’s a little bit more dangerous?”
He said he did not feel anyone in favor of restrictions was trying to abolish the Second Amendment, and said he supported the choice to own guns. However, he said he drew the line at assault weapons, which he felt were necessary only for the police and military.
“We may never totally end these killings, but we don’t have to make it so easy to get these types of weapons,” he said. “Congress, it’s way past time to act. Do your job and protect the people.”
“Well said, Mayor,” Council President Mickey Gross said at the close of Henry’s remarks on assault weapons.
During the public comment session, resident Barbara Pasternack praised the mayor’s speech and requested it become a petition.
“We could try it,” Henry said, adding that next steps would be getting in touch with legislators and letting them know how residents feel about the issue.
During his comments, Henry also said he was taking steps to address the heroin crisis, a national problem he said has had an impact in the city as well. City resident Jesse Flynn, 22, passed away May 29 from an overdose.
“It has reached into this community and claimed the lives of some of our young victims,” he said, adding that his office has reached out to experts in the area and will be setting up meetings with them to discuss possible solutions. He said one outcome he expects from that process is the establishment of a local support group.
“We know that we cannot ignore this problem,” he said. “We need to change this drug culture,” he said.