Fight Could Be In Store Over Gun Shows at County Center

Despite a petition urging him to permanently ban such shows, County Executive Rob Astorino reportedly will not consider a permanent ban on gun shows at the Westchester County Center in White Plains, prompting one town supervisor to vow he will continue the pressure.

Astorino spokesman Ned McCormack told Patch that gun shows will continue to be considered for the center, as the state does for other facilities. Banning such shows “does not address the fundamental causes behind horrific killings,” he said, referring, in part, to last week’s mass shooting at Umpqua Community College in Oregon where nine people were killed and several injured.

“There has not been a gun show at the County Center since 2012. If there is a request at some point in the future from a licensed operator, the county would consider it, in the same way the state does,” said McCormack in a statement.

“Banning sportsman shows, whether in Westchester, New York or around the country, where the sales of fire arms to law abiding citizens are fully monitored and include background checks, does not address the fundamental causes behind horrific killings. Our best defense for preventing anti-social, violent behavior is to look at root causes in a comprehensive way that encourages collaboration from all quarters, including supporters of the Second Amendment. That’s the approach behind County Executive Astorino’s ’Safer Communities’ initiative.

“Started in the wake of the killings in Newtown, Conn, more than a dozen initiatives have been launched since then. These include promoting the best techniques available to protect our children should a shooter invade their school. On the medical front, our Youth Mental Health First Aid program, designed to identify and counsel kids at risk before tragedies strike, has been cited as a national model. We have also increased crisis intervention training for police and first responders, and next week, one of our nation’s leading experts on school and youth violence will be conducting special training for law enforcement officials.

“Comprehensive and collaborative efforts like these are our best chance for protecting innocent lives and keeping our communities safe,” McCormack added.

Greenburgh Town Supervisor Paul Feiner told Patch that he is aware of the county executive’s stance and will seek to increase the pressure.

“Yes. Am reaching out to legislators and will ask them to override Astorino,” Feiner wrote in an email.

The Oregon shooting prompted Feiner to write to Astorino urging him to ban gun shows from the county-owned center. Following Feiner’s letter, Westchester resident Charles Bell created a petition on MoveOn.org calling on Astorino to permanently ban the shows.

As of today, Oct. 6, 1,650 people have signed the petition and the new goal is for 2,000 signatures. Click here to view the petition.

Gun shows have been temporarily banned at the facility before, following the Columbine mass shooting in Colorado, and after the Sandy Hook Elementary School mass shooting in Newtown.

If comments on previous stories on the topic are any indication, Astorino would appear to have some public support for his position.

“Mr. Feiner should focus his energy on getting illegal guns off the streets rather than worry about what law abiding citizens are doing,” wrote one Patch reader who goes by the name BudBob. “For the those who are ignorant and do not know, Westchester has some of the most stringent gun control laws in the nation. Maybe Mr. Feiner should be more concerned about those who may have mental illnesses and should not be in possession of any weapon!”

Added another reader, who only goes by John, “In regards specifically to the petition, gun ownership in some form is still a legal activity in NYS and protected (to some degree) by the second amendment. To temporarily halt the gun show from being held at the Westchester County Center may be warranted to show support for the shooting victims’ families, however to permanent ban the event based on the personal agenda of a few is a gross abuse of government authority.”

Patch file photo.