Westchester County Legislature
public hearing on 'safe storage'

Thanks to the Westchester County Firearms Owners Association getting the word out, there was Libertarian representation at yet another hearing about restrictions on law-abiding gun owners. Community members were each given approximately three minutes to speak.

Bonnie Scott, LPNY State Committee Member, addressed the seventeen-person legislature and assembled guests:

Hello. My name is Bonnie Scott. I am a single woman living alone in Port Chester. I am a gun owner, and a voter.

I came here today to ask you to reconsider a few portions of the bill on gun storage.

I read in the paper yesterday that Scarsdale High School is disbanding its riflery team. The paper said it wasn't for liability issues or insurance coverage.

It's a symptom--even before this bill is passed--of what this bill is going to do if there are no changes made to accomodate clubs and ranges.

I'd like to make an analogy. We teach Drivers Ed in schools. Now, we might be safer if we kept all kids away from cars. Don't even let them drive with parents until they're eighteen, never let them see cars used properly before it's legal for them to drive, but.... let them watch Dukes of Hazzard reruns all throughout their formative years.

What would you expect would happen if we did that?

If you remove kids from any exposure to cars or guns in a positive atmosphere, what do you have left? You have only the violent and glamourized portrayals of guns and cars in the media--in the movies, magazines, and even on the news. When have you ever seen someone checking to see whether a gun is unloaded on TV?

Like I said, we have Drivers Ed in schools, even though it would be safer to keep all kids away from all cars all the time.

I urge you to make exceptions where appropriate in the locking clauses of this bill so that schools, scouts, and other supervising adults can be allowed to teach kids. It's the only way to demystify guns, deglamourize them, and teach gun safety.

I would also like to briefly comment on the question of 'safe storage.'

As I said, I'm a single woman in Port Chester, and I live alone. In November of 1998, I bought a .410 gauge shotgun. That's not a big gun. But there was one thing about it I really liked--something that I hope will be the only thing I ever need to use--its sound. "Chkk-chkk." The salesman said that that sound is sometimes enough to scare off intruders. I don't know if he's right or not. What I do know is that I will never scare away an intruder with the sound of me looking for a key, whether it's to open up a closet or to unlock a trigger lock.

This legislation, if not modified, ensures that I will either spend the rest of my life locking my gun in the closet and taking it back out again each and every day when I go to work and get home--or else, I won't be ready if I ever need to use it.

If somebody breaks into my locked apartment and steals my gun and shoots someone with it, it is their crime, not mine. If I sell my gun, I don't see any reason why I wouldn't sell the trigger lock along with it...unless of course the person already had one...then I might knock $5 off of the price and keep it, I might be able to use it to lock up a bike or something.

But, the point is, as a Libertarian, I don't believe it's any of the government's business when, where or to whom I sell my gun. A violent crime with a gun is a real crime, and I expect my government to prosecute those, not anyone whose guns were not involved in crimes. You'd have to violate my fourth amendment rights to see if I'm exercising my second amendment rights properly, to enforce this legislation.

So, I'd like to conclude by saying that these parts of the bill, as written, will still have a chilling effect on safety in Westchester, by limiting training facilities and by preventing legal gun owners from being able to defend themselves in their own homes.