New exec bans gun shows on county property
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. » Westchester County Executive George Latimer has signed an executive order banning gun shows on countyowned property.
The action by Latimer, a Democrat who was elected in November, came on his second day in office and fulfilled a campaign promise.
Latimer said the county should not be in the business of advancing the sale of weapons and other items often sold at gun shows.
Former Count Executive Andrew Spano banned gun shows at the Westchester County Center in 1999 in the wake of the mass shooting at Columbine High School in Colorado.
Latimer’s Republican successor, former County Executive Rob Astorino, allowed gun shows to return in 2010, but they were temporarily halted again after the 2012 shooting massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., then allowed once again.
In January 2017, the county Legislature narrowly voted to ban gun
shows on county property, but Astorino vetoed the measure.
Latimer said Tuesday that gun shows do not represent the family values reflected in the other events held at the county facilities. The ban is not a restriction on gun shows in the entire county, but just on public land, he said.
“The County Center hosts basketball, Westchester Knicks play there in the developmental league, we have had the Harlem Globetrotters come in for performances, we have a bridal show coming up, we have a model train show that normally comes into the arena, we have job fairs and high school graduations and concerts, all very friendly family fare,” he said.
Latimer said gun shows have been controversial in light of the role of guns in society. The new county executive said that while people have the right to own guns, “it promotes a culture that might be more appropriate in parts of New York state, but in our suburban environment, I don’t think it is comfortable for most people.”
Latimer said he will propose that the county Legislature codify the ban into local law.