Since October 2015, more than 4,500 people have signed a petition to ban gun shows at the Westchester County Center.

According to the petitioners, County Executive Rob Astorino has unfortunately decided to allow a new “Gun and Knife Show” to take place at the Westchester County Center on January 21-22, 2017.

Monday night the Westchester County Legislators will hold a hearing and vote on a bill to ban all future gun shows on county-owned property. County Legislator Ken Jenkins (D-Yonkers) introduced this bill is 2010, and it’s been considered in every session since that time.

Blacks in Law Enforcement of America, a national organization of law enforcement officers of African decent announced their support of the Gun Show ban.

As a national organization of Law Enforcement Professionals, we support the county’s ban on Gun Shows at the Westchester County Center.

Westchester County is no different from other municipalities that are plagued with unregistered and illegal weapons that many end up in the hands of our youth.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, because federal law does not require universal background checks, “individuals prohibited by law from possessing guns can easily obtain them from private sellers and do so without any federal records of the transactions. The private-party gun market,” one study observed, “has long been recognized as a leading source of guns used in crimes.

Although the private sale loophole is frequently referred to as the “gun show” loophole (because of the particular problems associated with gun shows), it applies to all private firearm sales, regardless of where they occur.

There have been multiple shootings in the major urban areas in Westchester County. To be consistent in the efforts of Public Safety and the memories of the victims killed by gunfire, all gun shows should be banned from the County Center.