Activists Protest At Rep. Zeldin's Office: 'Protect Kids Not Guns'

PATCHOGUE, NY — A group of protesters gathered outside the Patchogue office of Rep. Lee Zeldin Wednesday afternoon in the wake of a school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, that left 19 children and two adults dead. Organized by North Country Peace Group, a "peace and social justice organization," protesters held signs criticizing Zeldin's voting record, including his opposition to New York's red-flag gun law.

"We will ask why Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-CD-1 and candidate for NYS governor) opposes NY's Red Flag Gun Protection Law. Zeldin loves guns but his constituents don't. We'll tell him to protect children, not the powerful gun lobby," the event planners posted.

Protesters held signs calling the lawmaker an "NRA poster boy" and dropped off stuffed animals at the door of his empty office.

New York State currently has a red-flag gun law, also known as the extreme risk protection order law, meant to prevent people who show signs of being a threat to themselves or others from purchasing or possessing firearms.

Rep. Zeldin is looking to become New York's first Republican governor in 16 years. Just days before the May 14 mass shooting in Buffalo, he was heard on video at a recent campaign event stating: "We should not have red flag laws that could be targeting law-abiding gun owners."

Zeldin has voted against universal background checks three times in recent years, according to the Giffords Law Center, and has an "A" rating from the National Rifle Association.

Representatives from Zeldin's office told CBS 6 News in Albany that "Congressman Zeldin does not support red flag laws that target law-abiding citizens. The Buffalo shooter, considering his terrorist threats, was not a law-abiding citizen. He should have never had access to any weapon."

“Opponents of the SAFE Act such as myself have long warned that the law would target law-abiding gun owners instead of focusing on criminals," the statement continued. "As we witnessed with the Buffalo shooter, he legally purchased a rifle under the strictest gun laws in the country and then modified the rifle."

A North Country Peace Group protester, Susan Perretti, from Setauket, read a prepared statement outside the Congressman's office.

"We are here because despite countless instances of gun violence in our country (some of the deadliest occurring in U.S. schools) you, Mr. Zeldin, refuse to support common sense gun safety measures like universal background checks and a federal ban on assault weapons," she said, in part. "And you continue to oppose NY’s Red Flag Law, which is designed to remove firearms from individuals who pose a threat to themselves and others. The Red Flag Law, which by the way, does not deny due process to law-abiding citizens."

"No child should have to go to school afraid that they and their classmates and teachers will be gunned down. Mitigating gun violence isn’t rocket science," Perretti said.

On May 24, an 18-year-old gunman opened fire at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, United States, killing nineteen students and two teachers, and wounding seventeen people. The gunman had legally purchased two AR-style rifles on his 18th birthday, according to CNN.

Zeldin's official statement on the Uvalde massacre came via Twitter on Tuesday: "Shocked and saddened by the tragedy that unfolded in Ulvade, Texas. This violence and evil has no place anywhere in our country or world. No parent should ever have to bury their beautiful, precious son or daughter."

Zeldin's office has not yet responded to Patch's request for comment.