GOSHEN – Governor Paterson Monday proposed legislation designed to reduce gun violence without infringing on the rights of law-abiding gun owners and at first blush, Orange County Sheriff Carl DuBois supports it.

The governor’s bill would allow relevant mental health records to be included in the National Instant Criminal Background Check System; improve the use of the state’s Combined Ballistic Identification System in solving gun crimes; update and clarify the state’s gun licensing laws; and provide for increased security at gun shops, including requirements for licensing and training of employees who handle guns.

DuBois said they merit a close look. “I think that anything we can do with legislation to make our communities safer, anybody in law enforcement would be all for that,” he said. “I would like to her both sides of the argument because there is going to be debate on this issue. I would also be interesting in seeing if it passes constitutional muster.”

State Police Superintendent Harry Corbitt said the proposed legislation “would strengthen enforcement’s ability to investigate serious gun crimes and help prevent tragedies like those that occurred in other parts of the country where relevant mental health records checks were not permitted.”