The state of New York does not have a "stand your ground" law like Florida or other states, but after the arrest of a New York City bodega worker who was charged with murdering a man who attacked him behind the counter of his store, Rep. Lee Zeldin, the GOP nominee in the state's gubernatorial race, said on Newsmax the legislation is needed.
"You look at this case with Jose Alba, he's acting in self-defense," Zeldin, a New York Republican, said on Newsmax's "National Report." "He is not a criminal. He gets slapped with the murder charge and he gets sent to Rikers Island. He has stab wounds. The person who stabbed him, by the way, hasn't been charged with anything."
Alba is facing charges of second-degree murder and criminal possession of a weapon after the stabbing death. The New York Post reports that Alba grabbed a knife after Austin Simon, 35, charged behind the counter when the clerk refused to sell a bag of potato chips to a woman who did not have enough cash.
According to the report, the customer left the store and returned with Simon, who confronted Alba. According to a video of the encounter, Alba allegedly stabbed Simon in the chest and neck.
The Post on Sunday reported that a video of the incident shows the woman allegedly stabbing Alba after her companion was stabbed. She has not been charged with a crime.
A $250,000 bond was initially set in Alba's case, but prosecutors negotiated that to $5,000, and he was released and is now at home under monitoring until his next court appearance.
"He's still wearing an ankle monitor," said Zeldin. "He's still facing this murder charge, and he's dealing with that infection on the stab wound, which I'm sure only got worse because he had to get sent to Rikers Island. I believe that Jose Alba has the right to defend himself and that he is a law-abiding citizen who should not be facing any negative consequences whatsoever."
Meanwhile, Zeldin on Monday said he plans to fight back against the legislation New York Gov. Kathy Hochul pushed through for new gun laws after the Supreme Court's ruling on concealed carry law in the state.
"It's unconstitutional," said Zeldin. "The Supreme Court overturned New York's concealed carry law and then the next week, Hochul brings back the state Legislature to pass new laws that go even further, that are more unconstitutional than what the Supreme Court has overturned the week prior.
"She's trampling all over First Amendment rights now in order to trample all over Second Amendment rights. And this is the same Kathy Hochul who was an A-rated, NRA-endorsed member of Congress."
Zeldin also spoke out about the protesters who appeared last week at a Washington D.C., steakhouse where Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh was eating, forcing him to leave the restaurant out a back door.
"They are going too far," Zeldin said. "They're trying to intimidate the Supreme Court justices. We have to protect the institution. We have to protect the justices and their families.
"It's one thing to peacefully protest in front of the United States Supreme Court, but what they're doing is going to the next level, and their attempt to intimidate, it's illegal. I believe that more resources need to be brought to bear from the federal level and the state level to protect them and their families."
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