Westchester County bans gun shows on public property

WHITE PLAINS, Westchester County (WABC) -- Westchester County Executive George Latimer signed an executive order Tuesday banning gun shows from county-owned property.

The action fulfills a campaign promise made by the Democrat.

"Westchester County government should not be in the business of advancing the sale of weapons and other items often sold at gun shows, plain and simple," Latimer said.

Gun shows at the Westchester County Center in White Plains have been a source of controversy for years. Such exhibitions were suspended following the massacre at Columbine High School in 1999, but the shows returned in 2010 under former County Executive Rob Astorino. They were then halted again temporarily after the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut.

Latimer is urging the County Board of Legislators to pass legislation making the ban permanent. A similar bill was passed last year, but it was vetoed by Astorino.