Calls Intensify for W’chester to Cancel County Center Gun Show
Following the massacre that took place in a Newtown, Conn. elementary school last Friday, the conversation of gun control went from occasional chatter to a loud scream over the weekend.
Some of that heated discussion made its way to Westchester, with local political figures calling for County Executive Rob Astorino to cancel the Gun and Knife Show at the County Center in White Plains scheduled for Feb. 2 and 3. Greenburgh Supervisor Paul Feiner and Assemblyman Thomas Abinanti both expressed their opposition to holding the show.
They argued that after the mass shooting in Newtown, holding a gun show less than two months later would be inappropriate. A 20-year-old male shot and killed 20 first-graders and six adults in a hail of bullets at Sandy Hook Elementary School.
“I think it’s totally inappropriate for public property to be used for the private function of selling and promoting products that kill people,” Abinanti said. “…Government should not be promoting weapons of violence. What’s a gun? A gun is designed to kill people and assault weapons are designed to kill lots of people.”
Abinanti said he, Feiner and other Westchester lawmakers plan to ask Astorino to cancel the event and never again allow a gun show inside the facility, a county-owned building.
Following the Columbine High School shootings in Littleton, Colo. that killed 14 students and a teacher in 1999, former county executive Andy Spano banned gun shows at the County Center. Once Astorino took office, the ban was revoked, according to Feiner.
The gun shows were reinstated with an $11 per person admission, with the county receiving $1.50, he said.
“I think it’s really ridiculous for the county to be promoting gun sales at government buildings,” Feiner said.
While Feiner said that citizens have the right to purchase guns, sales should not take place on government property and the county shouldn’t be profiting off of the show.
Details on the county’s website, describe the event as a 350-table sportsman firearm and knife show/sale. Admission this year is $12.
The sale includes antique and collectible firearms, ammunition, best knife makers and purveyors, militaria, uniforms, military-style weapons, handguns and other products.
Martin has more than 30 years experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, including a frequent focus on zoning and planning issues. He has been editor-in-chief of The Examiner since its inception in 2007. Read more from Martin’s editor-author bio here. Read Martin’s archived work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/martin-wilbur2007/
