Over the course of the last month or so, the debate over gun safety has dominated the headlines and has pushed its way to the top of the legislative agenda both in the Congress and in State Legislatures throughout the United States.

Sparked by the tragic events at Columbine High School in Colorado and Heritage High School in Georgia, the question that all of us have been asking ourselves is what we as a society can do together to keep our kids safe and to counteract the constant bombardment of negative and violent images that our children are exposed to each and every day of their lives.

Here in White Plains, most of what we do from a legislative point of view is very local in nature. Should we pave the roads this year? How much should we add to the budget for recreational programs? Should we change a zoning law to allow for additional extended care facilities?

As I announce my new gun safety initiative today, I want to mention from the outset that it is not my intention to enter the national fray over gun control. The partisan squabbling is sure to continue in Washington and elsewhere.

But as the debate rages on, I thought it was important to offer a local initiative on gun safety that will make a difference in the lives of the residents of our community and that will encourage other communities to take control over their own destinies.

My new initiative involves an $8 kidney-shaped lock that fastens onto the trigger housing of a handgun and immobilizes the gun's trigger. A key is required to remove the lock. Obviously the purpose of it is to prevent a tragic accident from occurring in the event that a loaded weapon gets into the wrong hands.

These gun trigger locks save lives. And while legislators throughout America debate whether or not to make them a mandatory feature of every handgun sold in the United States, here in our city, we will be giving these trigger locks away to every licensed handgun owner in White Plains who wants one.

The locks will be paid for from money confiscated from drug dealers andso, this new program will be cost free to White Plains taxpayers. The program will also include free demonstrations on the proper installation and use of the trigger locks and distribution of informational brochures on the proper storage of firearms.

We will also be giving these trigger locks away to every police officer in the White Plains Police Department for their homes. I am hoping that this new initiative will serve as one small but important step in the effort to protect our citizens from gun violence.

Our children are most vulnerable to potential gun accidents. statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that 1.2 million children have access to guns in their homes. Many of those guns are loaded and unlocked-an accident waiting to happen. Encouraging the use of these trigger locks will hopefully prevent gun accidents from occurring.

Guest Editorial #5

Joseph Delfino

Mayor- City of White Plains,NY USA