A bill headed for the governor's desk would require licensed gunsmiths in New York state to post a warning about the risks that come with owning a firearm — a proposal Democratic lawmakers hope will save lives.

If signed into law, firearms dealers in the state must post a sign where weapons are sold, displayed or delivered, including a paragraph explaining how guns in the home increase the risk of suicide, death during a domestic dispute or unintentional death to children. It must also include contact information for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, and would be given to any gun purchaser at time of sale.

"We have warnings on cigarette boxes, we have warnings on bottles of alcohol," sponsor Senate Deputy Majority Leader Michael Gianaris said. "And I would argue that a gun, when used irresponsibly, is much more dangerous than either of those products, as dangerous as they are."

Lawmakers passed several pieces of legislation this session aiming to reduce gun violence as firearms are the leading cause of accidental death for children in the state and nationwide. Conversations will likely heat up in the coming weeks after the Sept. 4 mass shooting at a Georgia high school that left two students and two teachers dead and injured nine others.

Gianaris noted New York has stricter gun laws in place than most other U.S. states, but more must be done to warn people of the risks that come with having a firearm in the home — even when purchased to be used for self-defense.

"There's a broad educational component that seeps into the public consciousness and that will help," the Queens Democrat said.

The state would design the notices, which supporters say will serve as a type of public education campaign and reduce the chances a gun will be used to unintentionally hurt someone else. 

National Institute of Health data shows a correlation between firearm ownership and suicides, and that a person with suicidal thoughts is more likely to take their own life with access to a gun.

"They may be purchasing it for the purpose of self-defense, but the likelihood that the gun is actually being used to injure someone else, whether intentionallly or otherwise, is much higher than a lot of gun owners may anticipate, and in general, that the public understands," said Rebecca Fischer, executive director of New Yorkers Against Gun Violence.

Meanwhile, gun store owners argue they doubt posting such warnings will be effective at reducing gun deaths, adding that signs posted declaring schools as “gun-free zones” have not prevented a mass shooting from taking place there.

"Having a location in which to put these signs, make them visible in the way the legislation is calling for and then have the local police have to come in and verify these signs are up with another unfounded, unfunded mandate... it just doesn't make any sense," said Craig Serafini, who owns Upstate Guns and Ammo in Schenectady County.

If signed into law, gun store owners who fail to comply with having enough signs, or do not have them in the proper locations, can be fined $1,000 or face up to 15 days in jail. Local municipalities would not be liable for businesses in noncompliance.

Serafini said he believes the signs will have the opposite of their intended impact, and give someone the idea to use the weapon to harm themselves or in a domestic dispute akin to subliminal messaging.

"I think that that has the potential to plant something in somebody's head that we don't want them to have," the Capital Region gun dealer said. "While [lawmakers'] intent is potentially a positive, I don't think they've weighed out the other side of it.

"...Having them put these signs up, I think, could be sending a very negative subliminal mesage to people and I don't feel that is going to benefit the public at large," he added.

Fischer countered that pharmaceutical companies post labels warning against the improper use of prescription medications to prevent accidents or overdose, and that those notices have not contributed to additional deaths.

"This should not be a fact of life," she said. "We should be able to do more to actually prevent gun violence and save lives and this notice requirement is a step in the right direction."

Gianaris said if the signs save even one life, the law will have done its job.

"It's not that big of a list," he said. "Put a sign up. And if it saves even one life, it's well worth it."