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Rye Brook proposed gun law shipped to Planning Board

After proposing a local law to regulate where gun stores would be permitted to open within the village, the Rye Brook Board of Trustees referred the draft legislation to the Planning Board for further input on Tuesday, Dec. 13.

In its current form, the law would amend a section of village law to prevent commercial storage and display of firearms, ammunition and explosives within a certain distance from schools and religious buildings. The most recent draft of the law does not specify what that distance will be. According to Village Administrator Chris Bradbury, Rye Brook is seeking input from the Planning Board on whether the distance should be 400 feet or 500 feet. The law would give additional discretion to the village board to approve or deny the location of a gun store.

Following the opening of a gun retailer on Halstead Avenue in Harrison, the village of Rye Brook has drafted a law that would restrict gun stores in the village from opening within a not-yet-specified distance from school and religious buildings, or at the discretion of the village board. That law is now under Planning Board review. File photo
Following the opening of a gun retailer on Halstead Avenue in Harrison, the village of Rye Brook has drafted a law that would restrict gun stores in the village from opening within a not-yet-specified distance from school and religious buildings, or at the discretion of the village board. That law is now under Planning Board review. File photo

“What we’ve tried to do is to create a law that regulates but doesn’t prohibit,” said Village Attorney Edward Beane, adding that it would be a violation of the Second Amendment to prohibit the sale of guns villagewide.

But village attorneys may still need to revise the language of the law, as state and federal laws which regulate gun licensing and distribution could pre-empt the local law.

The law was proposed as a proactive measure after a gun store in Harrison opened last month on Halstead Avenue less than 1,000 feet away from one of the town’s elementary schools and a local church, which prompted an online petition that has accumulated nearly 3,500 signatures as of press time.

Although the federal Gun-Free School Zones Act prohibits carrying a gun within 1,000 feet of a school unless the weapon is unloaded and stored in a locked case, a provision within the law allows gun shops to operate within the 1,000-foot zone.

Harrison officials have said they are also considering legislation to regulate the location of gun retailers, although it is unclear whether that law would apply to the Halstead Avenue store, L&L Sports.

However, according to Jonathan Kraut, an attorney for Harrison, there is currently no law related to gun shops in the works. Kraut referred to a U.S. circuit court ruling in May, which said that in order for a municipality to write a zoning ordinance that would restrict gun store locations, it would first have to demonstrate that a gun store would increase crime or place a burden on residents.

Harrison officials have expressed their interest in addressing residents’ concerns, while also making note of how those laws have been challenged at the federal level.

Earlier this month, Bradbury and Harrison Mayor Ron Belmont, a Republican, told the Review they planned to collaborate in considering legislation to restrict where gun shops could open.

“We have had continuing discussions with Mayor Belmont and we continue to keep them up to date as we move along,” Bradbury told the Review, “and we expect that they will do the same in return.”

Belmont could not be reached for comment as of press time.