These are "cold, dead, hands" words:

In what will likely infuriate plenty of legal gun owners, New York's Gov. Andrew Cuomo said this afternoon that he'd like the state's legislature to consider all options in debating new gun control measures, including "confiscation" of "assault" weapons or "mandatory sales to the state" and "permitting."

The state legislature will likely debate new gun-related laws after the governor introduces the thought in his upcoming State of the State address on January 9th, 2013.

TheBlaze reports that Cuomo told Albany's WGDJ-AM that while gun control hasn't been on the docket recently, he plans to reach out to state legislators and eventually submit a proposal for new laws. One of his stated goals is to change state laws regarding the possession of so-called "assault" weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines.

According to Cuomo, his state's existing laws regarding those matters have "more holes than Swiss cheese."

"I don't think legitimate sportsmen are going to say, 'I need an assault weapon to go hunting,'" he said, echoing the sentiment of many other pro-gun control advocates before him, while noting: "I understand the rights of gun owners; I understand the rights of hunters."

Cuomo's ignorance is astonishing. The question isn't what hunters "need" to hunt, it's how he and his liberal gun grabbers are going to define "assault weapon." Just about any rifle could fall under some definitions of "assault weapon" which only makes it easier to get guns out of the hands of law abiding citizens.

The governor then laid out several ideas for how the state would enforce stricter laws on those so-called "assault" weapons: "Confiscation could be an option. Mandatory sale to the state could be an option. Permitting could be an option - keep your gun but permit it," he said.

"Mandatory sales to the state?" What's the differrence between that and confiscation? A few dollars doesn't matter as far as the principle of the state being able to seize the property of law abiding citizens.

Cuomo has been talked about as a candidate for president in 2016. This proposal might help him in New York, but even Democrats in the Midwest and South would find his "gun control" ideas too radical.