Earlier this year, Assemblyman Steve Hawley (R,C,I-Batavia) issued his annual survey to his constituents as a way to gather input from the residents of his district. One of the main concerns was public safety.

“My constituents share my concern that the policies passed by downstate liberal legislators and signed by the governor are making our state and communities less safe,” said Hawley. “Since the beginning of the year, residents have been contending with criminals emboldened by so-called bail reform. In case after case we have seen violent thugs, drug dealers and known abusers released right back to our streets to victimize innocent New Yorkers. It’s simple – law-abiding New Yorkers must be prioritized over those who continue to break our laws and hurt other people.”

Western New York residents in Hawley’s district responded to a number of items:

• Overwhelmingly, 93 percent of survey respondents oppose bail reforms, which have released criminals accused of violent and abhorrent crimes;
• Nearly 88 percent oppose the policy allowing undocumented individuals to obtain a license;
• Additionally, they oppose efforts to allow undocumented immigrants to vote in New York elections by 97 percent and also oppose by 87 percent giving convicted felons the right to vote; and
• Hawley’s “Two New Yorks” solution (A.1687) is supported by 81 percent of respondents.

Hawley staunchly opposed the dangerous bail reform, which has wreaked havoc in communities and created headaches and burdens for law enforcement and courts. He continues to fight against the expansion of rights for lawbreakers.

While New York City lawmakers have been working to increase the rights of criminals, Hawley has spent his time supporting crime victims. He voted to make it easier to report domestic violence incidents (A.4467-A, Chapter 152), provide transportation for sexual assault victims to a healthcare facility (S.3966-A, Chapter 737) and protect the addresses of victims of human trafficking, sexual offenses and stalking (S.5444, Chapter 141).