Gov. Andrew Cuomo said the panic that erupted in Times Square after a backfiring motorcycle mistaken for gunshots sent people fleeing from the area shows just how “terrified” the nation is in the wake of the mass shootings over the weekend.
”That’s where we are. You hear a noise, you run. That’s the state of this nation. We’re petrified,” he said Wednesday during an interview on
.
The governor also railed about the “impotence of government” for its failure to respond with any substantial gun control legislation, as well as the Democratic presidential candidates, who he said were “all over the lot.”
In an interview on CNN, Cuomo urged the 2020 hopefuls to “make it a simple, clear choice for the American people” and sign on to a “Make America Safer Pledge.”
He said it has a number of basic elements: banning assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, passing legislation requiring universal background checks, creating a mental health database, and enacting “red flag” laws that would keep guns away from people considered dangerous.
Talking about the shootings in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, that killed 31 people and wounded scores more, Cuomo said he won’t support a Democratic candidate for president unless they support the gun measures.
”This is going to be the price of admission because I’m not going to support a candidate, and New York Democrats aren’t going to support a candidate who don’t support real safe gun law,” he said on the radio show.
