A bill passed by New York’s legislators requiring gun store owners to place a warning sign by the entrance of their businesses now awaits Gov. Kathy Hochul’s (D) signature.
WHAM reported the signage is to address the alleged risks associated with owning a firearm.
Ammoland explained the warning sign is supposed to say, “Access to a weapon or firearm in the home significantly increases the risk of suicide, death during domestic disputes, and/or unintentional deaths to children, household members and others. If you or a loved one is experiencing distress and/or depression, call the national suicide prevention lifeline at 988.”
Brandon Lewis owns The Firing Pin Indoor Shooting Range and Gun Shop in Bergen, NY, and he believes the pending sign requirement is just another example of state lawmakers singling our gun store owners without really addressing causes behind gun crime.
Lewis said, “We just see this as attacking the symptoms as opposed to the root issue, of trying to solve some of these societal problems that we have.”
He added, “Are car manufacturers going to have to say you’re more likely to get in a car accident by buying this vehicle?”
Rochester City Councilmember Willie Lightfoot (D) does not believe the warning sign requirement is an attack on gun store owners.
He said, “We want to be very clear that there’s no attack against gun dealers and legal gun owners.”
Lightfoot added, “However, we need to do our due diligence to those 10 percent of gun dealers who are operating immorally, unethically. We also are advocating for more inspections. Some of these gun dealers are only inspected once every 10 years. We’re looking for annual inspections of these gun dealers.”
Lightfoot did not explain how forcing nine out of ten law-abiding gun store owners to post signs because of the behavior of one out of ten gun store owners accomplishes anything.
AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio, a pro-staffer for Pulsar Night Vision, and the director of global marketing for Lone Star Hunts. He was a Visiting Fellow at the Russell Kirk Center for Cultural Renewal in 2010 and has a Ph.D. in Military History. Follow him on Instagram: @awr_hawkins. You can sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.