As gun violence remains the number-one killer of children in the United States and continues to shatter lives here in Rockland County, the County Legislature voted unanimously tonight to require warning labels to be posted wherever firearms are sold in the county. The labels warn that access to a firearm in the home significantly increases the risk of suicide, homicide, and death during domestic disputes, as well as the risk of accidental deaths of children or others. It also includes contact information for the National Suicide Hotline. Besides being displayed at retailers, the warning would also be given to people seeking gun licenses in Rockland.
County Legislator Beth Davidson (Clarkstown/Nyack), the legislation’s chief sponsor, said, “My constituents have told me they are tired of watching children being gunned down and politicians saying ‘there’s nothing we can do.’ Here in Rockland County, we can treat gun violence as the public health crisis we know it to be and warn consumers of the risks of having a firearm in the home. If this law makes one person suffering from depression think twice, if it prevents one domestic violence death, saves one child from an accidental shooting, or protects one law enforcement officer answering the call of duty, it will have been worth it. I thank my fellow legislators for supporting this important measure.”
The Center for Gun Violence at the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health released statistics for 2022 and they are horrifying: 48,117 people died by firearms in 2022, an average of one death every 11 minutes. Over 26,993 people died by firearm suicide, 19,592 died by firearm homicide, and 472 by unintentional gun injury.
“This label law will help people make informed decisions and understand the additional risk of owning a gun, both for the owner and for the people around them,” said County Legislator Dana Stilley (Orangetown/Clarkstown), co-sponsor of the bill, “especially children, who may access an improperly stored gun and accidentally discharge it.”
Chairman Jay Hood (Haverstraw), Chair of the Legislature and also a cosponsor, said, “My career on this Legislature has been dedicated to making our communities safer and stronger. This law is a basic, common-sense safety measure, and I’m proud that Rockland County is tackling gun violence as a public health issue, becoming just the third county legislature in New York State to pass it. Injuries and deaths caused by firearms are preventable—and yes, if one person struggling with mental illness, one child, one first responder is saved by this law, we have done our jobs as leaders. I hope the county executive will sign it without delay.”
According to the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, 53 percent of gun deaths in New York are suicides, and more than 27 percent of all suicide deaths in New York involve firearms. An average of 457 people die by gun-related suicide each year. In addition, from 2016-2020, 156 children under 18 were killed with a firearm in New York.
Several weeks ago, U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy issued a landmark Surgeon General’s Advisory on Firearm Violence, declaring firearm violence in America to be a public health crisis, and issuing an advisory outlining the devastating and far-reaching consequences that firearm violence poses to the health and well-being of the country.
Rockland County follows Westchester County and Albany County in passing similar measures.