State Sen. George Latimer (D) of New York says a county building shouldn’t be used to host a gun show, especially one that sold confederate mementos and Nazi memorabilia.
“Nazi memorabilia, confederate flags, it’s a whole counter-culture, anti-society, anti-government kind of mindset that comes with the gun show, and I don’t think that’s appropriate,” he told CBS2 New York.
Latimer says gun shows are “not something I think the county should be involved in helping to promote.”
He feels ‘Northeast Gun Shows’ should not be allowed to hold another event at the county center in Westchester County, NY this January, as is tentatively scheduled.
County Executive Rob Astorino (R) vetoed a ban on gun shows earlier this year.
“They’re gong to try to make this into something it was not, it was not Charlottesville, please!” he said.
Astorino said 8,000 people attended in January, and the latest gun show earned tax payers $50,000, so he won’t stop it because of some controversial memorabilia.
“These are historical in nature, these are not propaganda to join the Nazis and the KKK, this is about World War II, the same books are in high school libraries,” he said.
Westchester County officials said no contract has been signed for the January show, but pointed out that the state of New York holds similar shows on its property in Albany.
For more details click here for CBS2NewYork.
(Cover Photo: M&R Glasgow)