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As one of his first actions as Westchester County's new County Executive, George Latimer signed an executive order on Tuesday banning gun shows on county property.
Former County Executive Rob Astorino of Mount Pleasant, who Latimer defeated on Nov. 7, 2017, supported gun and knife shows at the public-owned County Center in White Plains.
"This is the wrong venue for these gun shows,'' Latimer said at an afternoon news conference, surrounded by county legislators and gun control advocates.
"I thank you for listening to all the people of Westchester,'' said county Legislator Catherine Parker, a Democrat from Rye.
Nancy Barr, a Democrat from Rye Brook, said opposition to gun shows was an issue in her fall campaign for the county Board of Legislators.
"They really did not believe there should be a gun show at the County Center," Barr said of voters in her legislative district, which includes Port Chester and Harrison.
In this story by Daily Voice, Ned McCormack, a spokesman for Astorino, confirmed there would be no gun show at the County Center in 2018.
"There was no contract for a gun show and the administration is not going to sign a contract for a gun show," McCormack told Daily Voice.
The Westchester Board of Legislators voted to ban all future gun shows on county property in January, but the 2017 show went on, generating criticism because a few displays featured Nazi memorabilia and Confederate flags.
Deputy County Executive Ken Jenkins, who was co-chair of Latimer's transition team, was the first to announce there would be no gun show in January 2018.
"This is definitely a great first step,''' Jenkins said of Latimer's order.
Latimer, a Rye Democrat, defeated Astorino, 57 to 43 percent, in the Nov. 7 election.
Jenkins, D-Yonkers, was the original sponsor of legislation banning gun shows. His bill was initially proposed after the deadly school shooting in Newtown, Conn., five years ago.
“To profit from this is just not the business Westchester residents want to be in," Jenkins said at the time. The ban was reintroduced after plans for a gun show at the County Center in White Plains on Jan. 21-22, 2017, as reported here by Daily Voice.
NorthEast Gun Shows and Westchester Collectors announced a two-day firearm and knife show/sale at the County Center on the weekend after Inauguration Day 2017. More details can be found by clicking here.
After a gunman murdered 20 children and six teachers at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., in November 2012, Astorino canceled a show scheduled for February 2013 at County Center. There hasn't been one since.
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