Democrats hit Republican C. William Gaylor III in Nassau Legislature race

The Nassau Democratic Committee has launched "Gun Shop Gaylor," a website criticizing Legis. C. William Gaylor III (R-Lynbrook) for past legal work on behalf of a proposed "gun spa" — though he has decried the page as "sleazy politics."

Gaylor is facing a challenge from Rockville Centre Democrat Laura Burns in a closely watched race.

Democrats must unseat two Republicans as county legislators in order to win control of the chamber, where Republicans hold an 11-8 majority.

The GunShopGaylor.com website states: "So then why did Bill Gaylor support bringing a gun shop and shooting range to Lynbrook? To add insult to injury, not only did he support bringing guns into our community, he was even paid for this dangerous attempt." A Facebook page and online ads also have sprung up.

Gaylor said about three or four years ago, he represented a client looking to build a gun store and shooting range in Lynbrook. Gaylor said he helped the client in seeking zoning variance from the village. But the project "never went forward, and the people didn’t buy the building that they were in contract for," he said.

In 2016, Queens security company ISS Action Inc. withdrew an application to the Lynbrook Village Board to build a “gun spa” — a combination shooting range and beauty parlor — following opposition from village residents.

Nassau Democratic chairman Jay Jacobs said, “with the prevalence of gun violence in our country and the threat to school children currently, I think that promoting the sale of guns in a community like Lynbrook, is really outrageous.”

Jacobs said party has spent several thousand dollars on the advertising buy.

Gaylor said he supported a new state law requiring guns to be stored safely in the home if someone under 16 lives there or is visiting. He called it a "piece of common sense legislation."

By Scott Eidler

scott.eidler@newsday.com@ScottEidler

Scott Eidler covers Nassau County government and politics for Newsday. Scott has worked at Newsday since 2012 and previously covered municipal government and education.