Nassau Launching Gun Collection To Help Ukraine

NASSAU COUNTY, NY — In order to help the people of Ukraine fight back against Russian invaders, Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman announced that the county was sponsoring a gun collection. Residents can donate weapons that will be sent to Ukraine to help the people there defend their home.

Blakeman said that residents can donate legal long guns — rifles and shotguns — at SP Firearms in Franklin Square, located at 804 Hempstead Turnpike. The guns will be safely stored until they can be shipped overseas. Those who donate will receive a receipt and written proof that the weapon is no longer in their possession.

"We have seen what's unfolded in the last couple of weeks, and it is something that is heartbreaking," Blakeman said. "It makes us angry, it makes us sad, it makes us motivated to do something and not just sit on our sofa and let things unfold without us taking part in what is clearly a struggle between good and evil."

Any donated weapons must be unloaded, and you must have photo identification. Do not bring ammunition.

Weapons will be collected at SP Firearms this weekend only: on Friday and Saturday from 10:30 a.m. to 7 p.m., Sunday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and Monday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

"In the United States, we have over 300 million legal guns," said Blakeman. "If we could just get three tenths of a percent of those guns to Ukraine from donations from the American people, we could get a million guns to the people of Ukraine."

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has asked for weapons and ammunition to help his people fight back against the Russian invasion.

Blakeman said the county is still working on the logistics of actually sending the weapons to Ukraine. The county is working with federal representatives, and Blakeman has called on President Joseph Biden to help cut through the red tape and expedite the process.

"There are people who will scoff at what we're doing here today," Blakeman said. "But I want you to think about the French resistance in World War II, where citizens took up arms against the Nazis in France. I want you to think about the Polish partisans in World War II, who took up arms against the Nazis in Poland.

"These were ordinary citizens that were being invaded by a foreign country," he continued. "We can't help but think about how this is so similar to 1939 when the Nazis invaded Poland, but nobody stopped them. Nobody gave the Polish people the weapons to defend themselves."