The Assembly vote to approve a sweeping gun control legislation highlights not a Democratic-Republican divide over the issue, but an urban-rural disagreement on the issue.

Consider that eight Democrats — mostly lawmakers from upstate — did not vote for the measure.

Four Republicans, meanwhile, voted in favor of the measure: Nicole Malliotakis, Ed Ra, Tom McKevitt and David McDonough. All are from downstate.

In that sense, the vote lines up partly with the vote in the state Senate, where 18 Republicans voted against the measure. But the GOP lawmakers who backed the bill were from the New York City area.

The exception, however, includes Sen. Mark Grisanti of Buffalo, who voted yes and represents a heavily Democratic area. Sen. Lee Zeldin of Long Island, a Republican elected with significant support from the tea party, was excused for Army Reserve training, but says he would have voted against the bill.

A 2388 Ny Safe Roll Call by Nick Reisman

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