Rockland County Legislature Unanimously Approves Firearm Warning Labels

By Rockland Daily Staff

The County Legislature voted unanimously last night, Tuesday, August 6, 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 will also be given to people seeking gun licenses in Rockland.

“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, co-sponsor of the bill, “especially children, who may access an improperly stored gun and accidentally discharge it.”

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 in New York.

Rockland County follows Westchester County and Albany County in passing similar measures.