Philipstown Officials Voice Support for Safe Storage Law
Philipstown town board members signaled their intention to support a proposed gun safe storage ordinance that’s garnered attention inside and outside the west side of Putnam County.
The potential local law would require gun owners in Philipstown to store their weapon or weapons securely to prevent theft and/or access by children and other people who should not possess firearms. No owner or custodian of a firearm would be able to leave their firearm out of his or her immediate possession in their home without physically giving it to a lawful custodian, having it placed in a locked container or having disabled the gun with a safety locking device.
If a resident is accused of violating the safe storage law, they could face a misdemeanor charge and if convicted, could be fined up to $1,000 or imprisoned in county jail for up to a year, or both. But in order to encourage residents to report to law enforcement agencies lost or stolen firearms, a person who files a report with police would not be subject to a violation of the safe storage ordinance, according to the current proposal.
While public hearings and workshops will be held early next year that could bring more revisions to the current law, all four board members in attendance (Councilman Robert Flaherty was absent) expressed their desire to institute the law in front of a packed room specifically there for the safe storage agenda item.
Supervisor Richard Shea called the proposed law “low hanging fruit” in regards to what responsible gun ownership is about. He said the safe storage law would be setting the “bar as low as you can go.”
“A gun is a powerful tool and with that comes a big responsibility,” Shea, a gun owner, said.
He said most gun owners in the community are already practicing safe storage so if the local law is approved, most people won’t be affected. The new draft keeps the language in the proposal broad and open for some interpretation that leaves a gray area for law enforcement officials to make a judgment call, Shea said.
The law, if passed, would help educate gun owners about safe storage, Shea said.
Councilman John Van Tassel, a gun owner, also signaled his support for the local bill, but cautioned “direct possession” needs to be firmly determined so no gun owner loses their right to protect themselves. Councilwoman Nancy Montgomery said with some questions regarding the local law, she would like to include input from residents and the town attorney before it’s passed.
The town board noted residents brought the issue forward more than a year ago. Since then, it’s been a hot button issue in town between gun control supporters and second amendment advocates with a handful of people in various firearm organizations from across the county and Lower Hudson Valley region attending meetings.
“We will get to a good ordinance I think and hopefully everyone can be happy about it,” Montgomery said.
Two residents, Craig Watters (a former candidate for town board) and Eric Vogel waited until the end of the meeting to address the ordinance. Vogel questioned how pressing an issue the safe storage ordinance is, pointing out a community congress group in Philipstown didn’t include it in a list of priorities it wanted for the town.
He also said the town could face a lawsuit if the safe storage law is passed and wondered if it was worth the money defending it. He questioned if the potential law was even enforceable.
“The only people it’s going to affect is going to be responsible gun owners,” Vogel said, noting “criminals” won’t follow this law.
The light back and forth debate between the town board and a couple gun owners is likely just a preview of possibly heated discussions upcoming. Van Tassel said near the end of the discussion he didn’t want an incident to take place in the future that this law could prevent.
“As someone who sits up here I’m not going to live with the fact if something does happen and I had an opportunity to stop it and I did nothing, I’m not living with that,” Van Tassel said.
