New Rochelle Mayor Noam Bramson’s campaign for County Executive released his latest television commercial this morning. The ad, entitled “Our Pain,” features the family members of gun violence victims objecting to Rob Astorino’s decision to bring gun shows back to the Westchester County Center. Gun shows had been banned in Westchester County for a decade prior to Mr. Astorino’s election.
“This ad highlights the devastating, real-world impacts that gun violence has on our communities, and explains exactly why Republican Rob Astorino’s actions in office have been so wrong,” said Bramson campaign spokesman Barry Caro. “Rob can pretend his extreme views on issues like gun safety don’t matter, but this ad shows exactly why they do and why they should concern Westchester County voters.”
Earlier this year, the operator chosen by the Astorino administration to run gun shows in White Plains was party to a landmark legal settlement with Attorney General Eric Schneiderman after undercover investigators determined that people who could not pass a background check were still able to purchase AR-15 assault rifles and other weapons at gun shows across New York State.
The family members of gun violence victims featured in the ad will also appear at a press conference alongside Mayor Bramson outside the County Center tomorrow at 12:15 PM. At the press conference, Mayor Bramson and the family members will call for a permanent ban on gun shows on Westchester County property.
Ad script:
Lois Schaffer: Gun shows used to be banned in Westchester County. But Rob Astorino brought gun shows back to Westchester.
Chris Foye: Making it easier for criminals and the mentally ill to buy guns.
Gisela Marin: Rob Astorino is even against Governor Cuomo’s ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines.
Chris Foye: This shouldn’t be about politics. It’s about stopping more fathers …
Wilma Frank: More mothers …
Gisela Marin: From knowing our pain.
Lois Schaffer: Rob Astorino should not be our County Executive.
BACKGROUND
Earlier this year, New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman reached a landmark agreement to force gun show operators to ensure that vendors were conducting required criminal background checks. The agreement followed an undercover investigation in 2011 that found serious violations of laws requiring background checks before gun sales. The operator of the gun show at the Westchester County Center was party to the agreement. [Office of the Attorney General, 11/30/2011 and 3/14/2013]
According to The New York Times, “State law has required such checks since 2000, but Mr. Schneiderman said there was ample evidence they were not always done.” [The New York Times, “Undercover Inquiry Leads Gun Shows to Tighten Checks,” 3/15/2013, LINK]