Why New York Vinnie supports King County Council’s new gun ordinance

Vinnie Richichi, AKA “New York Vinnie,” is known across the country for being a radio and TV personality, including formerly at KIRO Radio and 710 ESPN. However, on Monday evening, he used his voice for a different purpose than communicating over the airwaves — to show his support of the King County Council’s new gun safety ordinance during the council meeting’s public comment session.

The new ordinance, similar to the gun law implemented by the City of Seattle this past summer, requires firearm owners to lock their guns in a safe. If a firearm is stolen and used in the commission of a crime, the gun owner can be held responsible in the form of fines or even jail time.

“I think it’s incumbent upon all of us that when we feel passionately about something like this, that when we get an opportunity to talk to politicians about these kinds of things, that we let them know what we’re thinking,” Vinnie said to his old friend, KIRO Radio’s Dori Monson.

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While Vinnie doesn’t want to see guns taken away from people, he does want to make sure every gun owner is being smart and careful with their firearm — even if this involves government oversight.

“Responsibility for guns is a whole different thing that we always shy away from,” Vinnie said. “And I looked at the law and I looked at the ramifications, and it’s something that doesn’t seem like a hard thing to do, to lock up your gun, is it?”

Dori has often said that criminals do not buy guns at gun stores, but rather steal them. New York Vinnie used that fact to challenge him on who is at fault if a criminal breaks in and steals a gun.

“If it’s such a dangerous thing, and you believe that the people who get guns get them illegally — that they’ll obtain them by breaking into your house — why would you not take that extra precaution and lock that gun up?” Vinnie asked.  “And why wouldn’t it be incumbent upon you or required of you to do that?”

He pointed out that leaving a firearm lying around is different than leaving a loaf of bread on the table.

Dori asked Vinnie, hypothetically, if a burglar breaks into a house and steals a person’s cell phone from the nightstand, then texts while driving and kills someone, should the cell phone owner be held liable?

“Should you go to jail if they crash while they’re texting using your phone because you didn’t put your cell phone in a safe when you went to bed?” Dori asked, adding that there are more distracted driving deaths than gun deaths per year.

Vinnie said Dori’s metaphor was “a ridiculous analogy.”

“My phone is not designed or built to kill somebody,” Vinnie replied. “A gun is designed and specifically built to kill somebody.”

Ultimately, New York Vinnie said, if the new law saves even just one life, it is worth it.

“If it stops one kid from getting killed, one person from getting killed, if it stops somebody from breaking into your house, taking the gun and holding it to your head while they’re robbing you … is it not time that we looked at this whole thing and said, ‘What can we do to stop the guns that everybody says are the illegal guns from getting into the hands of the wrong people?'” Vinnie said. “That’s my point — stop them from getting into the hands of the wrong people.”

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