Tightening State’s Gun Safety Laws Focus of Forum in Armonk
Gun safety advocates must change their strategy to reach their legislative goals by convincing a wider portion of the population that children are in danger because of the unsafe storage and use of firearms.
That was part of the message delivered during a panel discussion held last Wednesday at the North Castle Public Library in Armonk organized by New Yorkers Against Gun Violence (NYAGV), a statewide advocacy organization.
The panel also told the roughly 50 audience members that passage of the proposed Child Access Prevention (CAP) legislation requiring improved storage of guns is essential.
Dr. Arthur Caplan, the founding head of bioethics at the New York University Langone Medical Center, said reciting statistics is inadequate to help pass gun safety legislation. Although gun violence is the second most cost common cause of death in young people in the United States, Caplan said, that has failed to impress enough Americans and elected officials to fight for tighter measures.
Instead, linking the argument to children and how youths are in danger from the unsafe storage and usage of guns is the approach that should be taken, he said.
Caplan said he disagreed with portions of the New York State SAFE Act that was hastily approved in January 2013, a month after 20 first-graders were shot and killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. He criticized a provision directing doctors and other health professionals to report a patient to a mental health director if they believe he or she could harm others..
However, doctors should be allowed to speak with patients about gun safety as part of “a routine discussion with their patients,” he said.
Much of the meeting focused on advocacy for the proposed CAP legislation, also known as Nicholas’ Law. It is named after Nicholas Naumkin, a 12-year-old who was killed by a friend playing with his father’s unlocked loaded gun in upstate Saratoga County.
Assemblyman David Buchwald, one of the sponsors of the legislation, said CAP is already in place in Westchester because the Board of Legislators passed similar legislation several years ago. He urged the state to follow the county’s lead.
Justin Wagner, vice president of New Yorkers Against Gun Violence and a state Senate candidate in the 40th District, said he is prepared to propose his own legislation if elected.
Most Americans support gun safety legislation, Wagner added.
“We are in the majority. We need to act like that,” he said.
Rep. Nita Lowey said she has advocated for gun safety legislation throughout her congressional career.
“Frankly, there is nothing more important” than protecting children, she said.
Lowey said Congress also needed to address a series of gun control measures, including closing the gun show loophole that allows individuals to purchase firearms without a background check and banning high capacity gun magazines.
However, the National Rifle Association and its supporters in Congress have stymied gun control legislation, Lowey charged.
“It’s a fight we’ve got to win,” she said.
