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Gunreference1
08-24-2010, 06:46 AM
Lawmakers to review gun safety law

By Gerald McKinstry • gmckinst@lohud.com • August 23, 2010


A recent U.S. Supreme Court decision may mean that Westchester County's gun-storage law violates the Constitution, so some lawmakers are taking a look at that statute to see if it will hold up.

The county law requires owners to store a gun with a safety lock or safe-storage depository, but recent rulings concluded that such laws may actually make it harder for people to defend themselves in their own homes, violating their Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms.

"We have to consider whether our law is unconstitutional," said Legislator John Nonna, D-Pleasantville, the chairman of the legislation committee. "We should examine whether our gun-storage law is subject to a constitutional challenge."

The county's committees on legislation and public safety will take up the matter at 1:30 p.m. today.

In June, the Supreme Court ruled in McDonald v. Chicago that states must abide by the same Second Amendment rules as the federal government and that states could not institute an outright ban on handguns.

That ruling also extended another one — Heller v. District of Columbia — that upheld an individual's right to possess a firearm within his or her home and to use it for self-defense if necessary.

Although the discussion "is less about gun control," restrictions in the Heller case were clear that the government cannot tell law-abiding owners how to store a gun, said J. Scott Sommavilla, president of the Westchester County Firearm Owners Association in Rye Brook, who raised the issue with county lawmakers.

"Each person has their own method of storage," Sommavilla said.

Overly strict storage laws may actually prevent owners from using a gun in self-defense in their own home, violating their rights, he said.

The discussion won't change how potential owners acquire a gun: Citizens — those without a felony conviction — can still obtain one by going through the proper permit process and background checks, he said.

But it might affect how — or whether — the county restricts owners' storage of such equipment in their own homes.

Though the issue is complicated, Nonna said it was a worthy discussion to have. The goal is to balance individual rights with safety, he said.

"I think we have an obligation to discuss the issue," Nonna said. "It's a balance. It's a question of how far you can go."

http://www.lohud.com/article/20108230327

Steve