N.Y. Defense Emergency Act 1951 Law § 2
The legislature hereby finds that there exists a serious danger that this state will be subjected to enemy attack, including attack by atomic bombs or other radiological weapons.
On December sixteenth, nineteen hundred fifty, because of the grave threat to national security, the president of the United States declared a state of national emergency, summoning all state and local leaders and officials to cooperate fully with the military and civil defense agencies of the United States.
The federal civil defense act of nineteen hundred fifty passed by congress on January second, nineteen hundred fifty-one and signed by the president on January twelfth, nineteen hundred fifty-one, as amended by public law eighty-five-six hundred six declares it to be the policy and intent of the congress that the responsibility for civil defense shall be vested jointly in the federal government and the states and their political subdivisions.
Nations with communist governments presently dominate one-third of the population of the world. Some of these nations have aided and assisted the nations which have perpetrated aggression in Korea. Acts of communist aggression have occurred in other parts of Asia and in Europe.
These communist governments have conducted incessant propaganda attacks upon the United States and have engaged in repeated demonstrations of hostility. The president of the United States has stated that in one of these nations there has occurred an atomic explosion. Our military leaders have informed us that these nations possess bombers capable of flying an atomic bomb to any point in the state of New York.
The national security resources board has in its plan for organizing civil defense stated that an atomic bomb exploded in a large city can destroy virtually all property and lives within a radius of three-fourths of a mile from the point of explosion and cause great damage at even greater distance. It is estimated that a single such explosion would kill nearly eighty thousand persons and severely injure many more.
In view of the professed determination of the government of the United States to resist further communist aggression, and because of the likelihood of resort to atomic and radiological weapons in the event of further conflict between this nation and communist aggressors, the peril to the people of this state is sufficiently great that the precautions embodied in this act must be taken.
The present inadequate size of our armed forces, their lack of equipment, critical shortages in essential goods and certain production facilities make necessary intensified mobilization to the end that the defense of the United States be strengthened as speedily as possible. Under all of the circumstances it is obvious that the enormity of the defense effort which must be made by the United States will cause great dislocation to its normal economy. One of the further purposes of this act is to minimize the hardship resulting from these dislocations, and to permit the fullest participation by the people of this state in the defense effort.
It is the purpose of this legislation to meet these dangers and problems with the least possible interference with the existing division of the powers of the government and the least possible infringement of the liberties of the people, including the freedom of speech, press and assembly.
N.Y. Defense Emergency Act 1951 Law § 2