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ERNEST S. FLAGLER-MITCHELL
LEGISLATOR - DISTRICT 29

ERNEST S. FLAGLER-l\1ITCHELL
LEGISLATOR - DISTRICT 29
354 RANDOLPH STREET
ROCHESTER.NEVv YORK 14609
OFFICE: (585) 753-1940
FAX: (585) 753-1946
E-J\1AIL: ernestflaglermitche11 (~~gnlai I.conl

FT
March 7,2015

To The Honorable
Monroe County Legislature
39 West Main Street
Rochester, NY 14614

RE:

The Safe Firearm Storage Act

Honorable Legislators:
The Centers for Disease Control l1ave some of the most. complete and comprehensive
data on causes of death in the United States available. In the most recent year for which full
national data is available, 2013, 33,169 individuals were killed by a firearm. About one third of
those deaths - 11,208 - were homicides. An additional 21,175 lives were lost to those who
committed suicide with a gun.
Monroe County experienced a violent summer ill 2015. This year's shooting victims join
the 947 individuals shot and 124 individuals killed in the City of Rochester alone between 2010
and 2014, with 2015's final numbers on track to add significantly to that awful tally. Horrific
incidents this year include the shooting of seven young people leaving a charity basketball game
outside the Boys and Girls Club, causing three of their deaths, and the shooting of six people,
leading to two deaths, ata house patty. One of those killed at that party was Herbert Thomas,
the cousin of Legislator Ernest-Flagler Mitchell. The Legislator and his extended family are still
dealing with this terrible family tragedy and the lasting impact it has had on those who knew and
loved Herbert.
In the time period of 2004-2010, the latest years for which CDC data is available, an
additional 148 people committed suicide with a gun in Monroe County. If Monroe County is

matching national trends, those numbers will likely have either held 'steady or slightly increased
in the years since.
Both homicides and suicides could potentially be significantly curtailed by focusing on
one aspect of the gun violence problem that we believe has been infrequently addressed, and that
is the requirement that gun owners securely store their weapons.
In a press conference last fall, the Mayor and Police-Chief of the City of Rochester shared
the startling statistic that 60 percent of gun crimes committed in.the city in 2015 were executed
with firearms. stolen from legal gun owners. We believe this statistic shows that there is not
enough being done to ensure that legal weapons don't end up in the hands of dangerous, violent
criminals.
Meanwhile, national experts on suicide believe that adding even small steps that increase
the delay between suicidal thoughts and attempts can result in remarkable decreases in the
suicide rate. Research by the mental health community has determined that an overwhelming
number of suicides are spur-of-the-moment decisions, and that over 90 percent of all those who
attempt to commit suicide never die from suicide. Unfortunately, those numbers are much
different for firearm suicides, which result in a death rate of closer to 85 percent. Other common
methods of attempting suicide, such as overdosing on pills, have been determined to(be fatal
closer to- 1 percent of the time.
Liza Gold, a professor of clinical psychiatry at Georgetown University's school of
medicine and editor of "Gun Violence and Mental illness," has said that steps as simple as
keeping firearms unloaded and securely locking up them, and. storing their ammunition
separately, can result in as much as a 30 percent cumulative decrease in the suicide rate in
affected homes. Other research has indicated that in suicides of those aged 10 to 19, of which
there were 876 nationally in 2013, up to 82 percent were committed with a gun taken from a
family member, typically a parent.
We have leash laws for dog owners and storage and handling requirements for industries
that work with hazardous materials. We merely propose extending similar requirements to
firearms.
Monroe County should join a growing list of governments, including the State of
Massachusetts, the Cities of Rochester, New York, and Albany, and Westchester County, in
requiring gun owners to keep their weapons locked up when they are not in their immediate
possession or control. Crucially, this legislation designates specific, third-party standards that
storage containers or locking devices- must meet, relying on nationally-recognized minimal
security standards established by Underwriters Laboratories for storage cabinets and statewide
standards for firearm locking- devices set by the New York State Police.

We have a responsibility to do everything in our power to staunch the flow ofpowerful

weapons into our community that are destroying lives and give those struggling with depression
a fighting chance to access mental health resources and overcome urges to end their own lives,
and we urge you to join with us and pass a sensible safe storage solution - a type of law that has
been upheld by the United States Supreme Court as not conflicting with the Second Amendment
to the United States Constitution.
The specific legislative actions required are:

1. Schedule and hold a public hearing on these proposed amendments to local law.
2. To amend the General Local Laws of Monroe County, as attached.
No additional net County support is required in the current Monroe County budget.
We recommend that this matter be referred to the appropriate committee(s) for favorable
action by this Honorable Body.
Respectfully Submitted,
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Ernest Flagler-Mitchell
Assistant Minority Leader

By Legislator Flagler-Mitchell
Intro No.
LOCAL LAW NO.

OF 2016

A LOCAL LAW ENTITLED "THE SAFE FIREARM STORAGE ACT"

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE COUNTY OF MONROE, as follows:
Section 1.
Article II is added to Part IV, "General Local Laws of Monroe County,"Chapter
373, ''Weapons,'' to read as follows:
Article II: Safe Firearm Storage Law

373~4: Tide.
This article shall be known as the Safe Firearm Storage Law.

373-5: Findings and legislative intent.

The Legislature fmds that:
Gun violence is a critical issue affecting Monroe County. Between 2010 and 2014,
A.
947 shooting victims and 124 individuals killed by gun violence have been tracked by the
City of Rochester Police Department alone.
The Rochester Police Department has stated that in 2015, 60 percent of gun crimes
B.
were committed using weapons that were stolen from legal gun owners.
C.
Additionally, in the time period of 2004-2010, Centers for Disease Control data
shows that an additional 148 individuals used a fttearm to commit suicide in Monroe
County.
D.
Particularly among young people, suicide is a leading cause of death. In individuals
under age 35 in N ew York State, it is the third most common cause, behind only accidents
and homicides. Between 2010 and 2014, 93 teenage New Yorkers used a fttearm to end
their lives.
D.
The most important duty of the Monroe County Legislature is to protect the lives
and health of the citizens of Monroe County. Making it more difficult for violent criminals
to get access to fttearms should be a priority of this body.
E.
Mental health research indicates that many suicides take place on the spur of the
moment, and even small delays can lead to individuals overcoming this tragic impulse. This
is particularly important when suicide attempts with a fttearm are fatal 85 percent of the
time.

F.
Those who own weapons bear a responsibility to take reasonable precautions against
those weapons being misused by others to commit violent crimes, or being used by those
suffering from depression or other mental illness for ending their own lives.
The Legislature therefore fmds that requiring the secure storage of f1tearms by their
G.
owners is an important step in confronting gun deaths in Monroe County.

373-6: Purpose.
The purpose of this article is to establish a law requiring the safe storage of f1tearms in Monroe
County, helping to prevent their theft and use in violent crimes or in the commission of suicides.

373-7: Definitions.
"Firearm" means any device designed, made, or adapted to expel a projectile through a barrel by
using the energy generated by an explosion or burning substance or any device readily convertible to
that use.
"Safe storage depository" means a safe or other secure container which, when locked, is incapable
of being opened without a key, combination, or other unlocking mechanism, and is capable of
preventing an unauthorized person from obtaining access to and possession of the weapon
contained therein, ~nd meets the Underwriters Laboratories Standard 687(BurglaryResistant-Safes)
atClass TL-15 or higher.
"Gun locking device" means an integrated design feature or an attachable accessory that is resistant
to tampering and is effective in preventing the discharge of a rifle, shotgun or f1tearm by a person
who does not have access to the key, combination or other mechanism used to disengage the device,
and that meets the standards set by the Division of State Police in Title 9, Subtitle IZ, Part 471
(Minimum Standards for Gun Locking Devices) of the Codes, Rules and Regulations of the State of
New Y ork (NY-eRR).

373-8: Storage requirements.

No person who owns or is custodian of a f1tearm shall store or otherwise leave such f1tearm out of
his or her immediate possession or control without having f1tst securely locked such f1tearm in an
appropriate safe storage depository, which, when locked, is incapable of being opened without a key,
combination or other mechanism, preventing an unauthorized person from obtaining access to and
possession of the f1tearm contained therein, or rendered it incapable of being f1ted by use of a gun
locking device appropriate to that f1tearm.

373-9: Required notice.

Every person engaged in the retail business of selling f1tearms shall post a notice in the place where
such f1tearms are displayed or delivered to the purchaser conspicuously stating, inno smaller than 24
point type and on no smaller than 8 1/2 x 11 paper stating in bold print the following warning:

WARNING: RESPONSIBLE FIREARM STORAGE IS THE LAW IN MONROE COUNTY.

FIREARMS MUST BE STORED INA SAFE OR OTHER SECURE CONTAINER WHICH,
WHEN LOClZED, IS INCAPABLE OF BEING OPENED WITHOUT A lZEY,
COMBINATION OR OTHER MECHANISM PREVENTING AN UNAUTHORIZED
PERSON FROM OBTAINING ACCESS TO AND POSSESSION OF THE FIREARM
CONTAINED THEREIN, OR RENDERED INCAPABLE OF BEING FIRED BY USE OF A
GUN LOCI<ING DEVICE APPROPRIATE TO THAT FIREARM. LEAVING FIREARMS
ACCESSIBLE TO A CHILD OR UNAUTHORIZED PERSON MAY SUBJECT YOU TO
IMPRISONMENT, FINE, OR BOTH. YOU MAY ALSO FACE ADDITIONAL PENALTIES
IF AN IMPROPERLY STORED FIREARM IS USED BY ANOTHER IN THE COMMISSION
OF A CRIME.
~

373-10: Report of theft or loss.

Any theft or loss of ammunition or flrearms from a storage vault, safe storage depository, or
otherwise shall be reported immediately to a law enforcement agency.

373:-11: Penalties for offenses.

Any person who shall violate or shall neglect or refuse to comply with this article or any provisions
thereof, upon a flrst offense, shall be guilty of a violation and upon conviction thereof, shall be
punishable by a fine not exceeding $1,000 or by imprisonment not exceeding 15 days.
Upon a second offense, or when a flrearm stored improperly in violation of this article contributes
to injury or death of another, the offender shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction
thereof, shall be punishable by a fine not exceeding $5,000 or by imprisonment not exceeding one
year, or by both such fine and imprisonment.

373-12: Severability.
If any clause, sentence, paragraph, section or article of this article shall be adjudged by any court of
competent jurisdiction to be invalid, such determination shall not affect, impair or invalidate the
remainder thereof, but shall be confined in its operation to the clause, sentence, paragraph, section
or article thereof directly involved in the proceeding in which such adjudication shall have been
rendered.

373-13: Reverse Preemption.

This local law shall be null and void on the day that statewide or federal legislation goes into effect
incorporating either the same or substantially similar provisions as are contained in this law, or in the
event that a pertinent state or federal administrative agency issues and promulgates regulations
preempting such action by Monroe County. The County Legislature may determine by resolution
whether or not identical or substantially similar statewide or federal legislation or pertinent
preempting state or federal regulations have been enacted for the purposes of triggering the
provisions of this section.

Added language is underlined.

Section 2.
This local law shall take effect 60 days after passage and upon filing with the
Secretary of State pursuant to Section 27 of the New York State Municipal Home Rule Law.

File No. 16-0

ADOPTION: Date:

.LL
Vote:

ACTION BY THE COUNTY EXECUTIVE

APPROVED:

VETOED:

SIGNATURE:
EFFECTIVE DATE OF RESOLUTION:

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DATE:

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