Return of Westchester gun show sparks record turnout

WHITE PLAINS - At 8:30 a.m., the line to enter Saturday’s gun and knife show was already wrapped around the side of the Westchester County Center. By 3 p.m., the steady-moving line was just as long.

County Executive Rob Astorino said attendance numbers from the first day of the show were expected to break the anticipated two-day total. Astorino vetoed legislation Thursday that moved to ban gun shows on county-owned property.

“I tried to look at this issue not in the emotional way, as some people wanted me to do it,” he said. “There was no justification to ban a gun show based on the facts and based on the law.”

The firearms show and sale was the first at the County Center since 2012, after Astorino canceled a February 2013 show following the murders of 20 children and six teachers at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut.

“There’s absolutely no reason in the world not to have us here,” said Newman Chittenden, president of Westchester Collectors, Inc., which runs the show. “We pose no threats to anyone and there’s absolutely no statistics that would indicate that. ... We probably have one of the most wholesome activities there is.”

Chittenden said as many as 5,000 people were expected to attend the show, which features modern, antique and collectible firearms, ammunition, handguns, knives, military-style weapons, books and gun-related memorabilia. Astorino said attendees had to possess a pistol permit and undergo a background check to purchase firearms at the event.

Ben Raz, a New Rochelle resident and gun owner, said his father taught him how to safely operate a gun at age 12. He said people who oppose gun shows are usually misinformed about the safety protocols at the event.

“I think the most important thing is the educational aspect behind firearms,” said Raz, 26. “I think that’s sort of a stigma behind firearms that’s like a witch hunt. At the end of the day, a gun is an inanimate object just like a truck or car is. It’s the person behind the gun that matters.’’

The show comes weeks after the shooting death of 13-year-old Shamoya McKenzie of Mount Vernon. Astorino said gun show attendees should not be affiliated with criminals who illegally obtain weapons.

“Those are people who don’t respect the law, take an illegal gun to commit a crime, those who are drug infested or gang infested. We all want those people off the street and in jail,” Astorino said. “This is about something very, very different. This is about law-abiding citizens who absolutely respect the law and have an appreciation for the Second Amendment and the First Amendment.”

The second day of the gun show is Sunday, Jan. 22 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tickets are $13.

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