Petition Calls On Astorino To Ban Gun Shows

Petition Calls for Ban on Gun Shows at Westchester County Center
By Ashley Hughes, cross-posted from: Westchester Magazine, 10/6/15

Following the mass shooting in Oregon, the petition says it's time to bring back the ban

M&R GLASGOW/ VIA FLICKR CREATIVE COMMONS

A petition with more than 1,500 signatures is calling for gun shows to be kept out of the Westchester County Center.

The petition was launched, in part, as a response to last week’s mass shootings at Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, Oregon, which killed ten people and injured nine others.

The petition was launched on the website MoveOn.org. Its creator, Westchester County resident Charles Bell, calls for County Executive Rob Astorino to permanently ban gun shows at the Westchester County Center in White Plains. The petition has gained 1,650 signatures in the past few days.

Gun shows were banned at the county center, first under previous County Executive Andrew Spano, a Democrat, for 10 years. However, Astorino, a Republican, ended the ban when he came into office in 2010.

While Astorino canceled a gun show at the WCC following 2012’s Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, a spokesman for the county executive told The Journal News that if a future request to hold a gun show came in from a licensed operator, the county government would consider it.

"Banning sportsman shows... where the sales of firearms to law abiding citizens are fully monitored and include background checks, does not address the fundamental causes behind horrific killings," Ned McCormack, an Astorino spokesman, told The Journal News. "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."

For all other events at the center, there is a ban on “weapons of any kind.”

Part of Astorino’s unsuccessful campaign for governor last year focused on his goal to repeal Governor Andrew Cuomo’s SAFE Act. The bill banned the sale of specific weapons and required registration for those already purchased, among other provisions. One of those provisions instituted a requirement for background checks on all gun sales in New York, including at gun shows. New York is one of six states that require background checks at gun shows. The so-called “gun show loophole,” which allows private sellers on the Internet and at gun shows in states without such laws to make sales without requiring background checks, has become a focus of presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s announced plan for gun control.

While the petition appears unlikely to influence Astorino, it has gained the support of other Westchester officials. Greenburgh Town Supervisor Paul Feinberg sent his own letter to Astorino this Monday, to call for a ban on gun shows in governmental buildings, including the County Center. 

Westchester residents pushing to ban gun shows from County Center (Verizon Fios1 News)

Westchester residents pushing to ban gun shows from County Center 

Over 1,700 residents have signed a petition to ban the gun show at the venue

Westchester Co. Executive: Gun shows will proceed despite calls to reinstate ban 

Many residents, officials want Rob Astorino to prohibit firearm demonstrations in wake of Oregon college shooting

Greenburgh supervisor renews his call to ban gun shows at county-owned buildings in Westchester

In the wake of the Oregon shooting, Paul Feiner is asking to have gun shows banned from the County Center

Rob Astorino: No ban on gun shows at Westchester County Center

Rob Astorino: No ban on gun shows at Westchester County Center
by Mark Lungariello, The Journal News, 10/5/15
Cross-posted from Lohud.com

A resident-created petition asks to reinstate the ban, which lasted 10 years under former County Executive Andy Spano.

A petition calling to ban gun shows at the Westchester County Center isn’t likely to go far, with the county executive saying he has no plans to put limits on firearm shows there.

A spokesman for County Executive Rob Astorino, a Republican, said there hasn't been a gun show at the center since 2012, but said Westchester would consider a request made by a licensed operator in the future.

"Banning sportsman shows ... where the sales of firearms to law abiding citizens are fully monitored and include background checks, does not address the fundamental causes behind horrific killings," Ned McCormack, an Astorino spokesman, said. "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."

Greenburgh Town Supervisor Paul Feiner, a Democrat, called to reinstate a ban on firearm and gun shows at the center and other government buildings after a shooter opened fire at Umpqua Community College in Oregon, killing nine people before fatally shooting himself.

A local resident started an online petition this weekend after Feiner called for the ban. Almost 900 people had signed the petition by Monday afternoon.

“A lot of people have been asking what they can do,” Feiner said. “I just hope the county executive will realize that a lot of people are against it, and don’t think government should be encouraging the sale of guns.”

Former County Executive Andy Spano, a Democrat, had imposed a ban on gun shows after 12 students and a teacher were killed in a mass shooting at Columbine High School in Colorado. Astorino lifted the ban when he came into office in 2010.

When a mass shooter in 2012 murdered 20 children and six school teachers at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, Astorino canceled a scheduled gun show at the County Center.

Since then, McCormack said, the county has undertaken initiatives that include the "Safer Communities" program. The county has increased crisis intervention training for police and first responders and has launched a program that aims to identify and counsel children at risk before tragedies strike.

Astorino ran unsuccessfully for governor last year with Chemung County Sheriff Christopher Moss as his running mate for lieutenant governor. Moss was an outspoken critic of Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s SAFE Act, which banned certain weapons and required registration for existing ones.

During the campaign, Astorino, who doesn't own a gun, said he'd repeal the law and appeared at several gun shows and rifle clubs across the state.

Staff writer Richard Liebson contributed to this report.

County Executive Astorino: Please Ban Gun Shows at Westchester County Center

County Executive Astorino: Please Ban Gun Shows at Westchester County Center



Sign the Petition!!

Greenburgh Supervisor Calls For Ban On County Center Gun Shows

Greenburgh Supervisor Calls For Ban On County Center Gun Shows

By Carol Reif, 10/3/2015

Cross-posted from Greenburgh Daily Voice

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GREENBURGH, N.Y. -- Greenburgh Supervisor Paul Feiner is once again pushing for a ban on gun shows in government-owned buildings.

Feiner, in a recent letter to Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino, reiterated his long-held belief that it is inappropriate to sell firearms at places like the County Center in White Plains – especially, he said, in light of this week’s massacre at Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, Ore.

According to media reports, a gunman there killed nine people and wounded nine others before being killed himself in a firefight with police.
Feiner said he felt that “the easy availability of guns could be a factor in the recent Oregon tragedy and in gun violence incidents around the nation.”
In his letter, Feiner said that Astorino “courageously” cancelled the gun show at the County Center in the wake of the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings in Newtown, Conn., where 20 children and six educators were gunned down.

But the county allowed gun shows to resume there the following year, Feiner said. In his letter to Astorino, Feiner also noted that the gun shows were banned by former County Executive Andrew Spano in 1999 after 12 students and one teacher were slain at Columbine High School in Colorado.

Feiner said that while he believes people have the right to purchase and own guns, he also believes that “government should not be encouraging gun ownership.”

In his letter to Astorino, Feiner noted that he wasn’t aware of any gun shows scheduled for the County Center for 2016. However, he told the county executive, “the gunshowtrader.com site leads one to believe that a gun show will be scheduled at the center next year.”   Feiner said in the letter that since no gun show appears to be currently scheduled, it would not “inconvenience” anyone if future gun shows were banned.