Cuomo watch: A tale of two issues

Compare Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo's alacrity on gun-control with his sluggishness on shale.

Within 31 days of the Newtown, Conn., school massacre, Cuomo pushed a comprehensive new gun-control law through the legislature with little resistance. Strategically, the rush prevented opposition from mobilizing. Gun rallies since then have been more about venting than repealing the law.

But Cuomo has postponed a decision -- several times -- on drilling for natural gas in the Marcellus Shale formation in New York's Southern Tier. Proponents' and opponents' positions have hardened, protests and news conferences are frequent, and state legislators are split.

For his part, Cuomo has said about shale: "I'm not going to rush."

-- Yancey Roy