(Long Island, NY) Tuesday evening the City Council of the City of Saratoga Springs, New York, unanimously passed a resolution urging the New York State Legislature to enact Nicholas’s Law (A.53/S.2291), the Safe Weapons Storage Act, a bill that would require guns to be safely stored when not in the owner’s immediate possession or control. Nicholas Naumkin, the twelve-year-old child for whom the bill is named, lived in the Saratoga Springs community.
Earlier in the evening, the State Assembly passed A.53 while Oxsana Naumkin, Nicholas’s mother, looked on. Saratoga Mayor Joanne Yepsen and the other council members were clearly pleased. “It’s great news,” said Mayor Yepsen. When Oxsana Naumkin heard that the Saratoga Springs resolution passed, she said, “This means so much to my family that the Saratoga Springs City Council would take this step to publicly support Nicholas’s Law. I hope that our Assembly member and senator will do the same.”
Commissioner Chris Mathiesen introduced the resolution and said, “This [Nicholas’s Law] seems to be really common sense. The safe storage of firearms will certainly be something that could enhance the safety of homes in our community. If this law is not passed by the Senate, there may be consideration given to a local ordinance along these lines which I think would make sense if the state legislature doesn’t pass this bill.”
Commissioner Skip Scirocco said, “As a gun owner, it’s always in the back of my mind – I have a grandson – and I can assure you that my guns are in a locked case. When you see unfortunate thngs like this happen, it hits home. These tragedies can be prevented with a gun, not loaded, kept in a lock box. It just takes that one time. That child is not aware that the gun is loaded. When you pull the trigger, it’s final – it doesn’t come back.”
Commissioner Scirocco said he was planning to call State Senator Kathy Marchione in the hope that “she would support the bill. I think it’s a great idea. It should have been here a long time ago, let’s put it that way. Thanks for bringing it forward.”
Mayor Yepsen concluded, “I want to thank everyone who worked on the resolution, including Saratogians for Gun Safety, New Yorkers Against Gun Violence, and Nicholas’s mother, with whom I’ve met several times. Hopefully this will be protecting not only children in the future by everyone. This is a huge safety issue.”
Leah Gunn Barrett, NYAGV Executive Director, said, “It’s heartening that the Saratoga Springs community has endorsed this common sense law to protect children from unlocked and loaded guns. We hope the Senate will vote on Nicholas’s Law before the end of the session. We know that 91% of New York voters and 71% of gun owner voters support a statewide safe storage law. If the Senate fails to act, we will continue to work at the local level to pass more safe storage laws like those that already exist in Rochester, Buffalo, Westchester County and New York City. And we will be back in Albany next year.”
New Yorkers Against Gun Violence is a statewide advocacy group working to reduce gun violence through advocacy and education designed to encourage action, influence public opinion and lead to policy change. With a primary focus on New York State, the organization also advocates at the local and national levels for sensible gun laws, policies and practices that protect New York State residents from gun violence.
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