Latest news with #RhodeIslandCoalitionAgainstGunViolence
Boston Globe
2 days ago
- Politics
- Boston Globe
New R.I. Senate leaders push revised ban on assault-style weapons to Senate floor
New Senate President Valarie J. Lawson, who also leads the National Education Association Rhode Island, and new Senate Majority Leader Frank A. Ciccone III, a licensed gun dealer, used their power to vote in any committee, and backed the bill. Get Rhode Map A weekday briefing from veteran Rhode Island reporters, focused on the things that matter most in the Ocean State. Enter Email Sign Up Senate Minority Leader Jessica de la Cruz, a North Smithfield Republican, and Minority Whip Gordon E. Rogers, a Foster Republican, also used their ex officio powers, voting against the bill. Advertisement The 10-member Judiciary Committee had been seen as evenly split on the issue. But Senator John P. Burke, a West Warwick Democrat , voted for the bill, defying expectations. The revised gun bill has drawn support from Everytown for Gun Safety leaders, who have said, 'Compromise is a part of public policy progress, and the amended version of this bill is still a massive step forward.' But it has drawn criticism from the Rhode Island Coalition Against Gun Violence, which issued a statement Wednesday and said it remains 'deeply disappointed' in the 'weakened' ban on assault-style weapons and favors the House-passed bill. Advertisement Senator Dawn Euer, a Newport Democrat, voted for the bill in the Judiciary Committee, and said she has prepared floor amendments that would restore the bill to the House-passed version. The vote had been seen as a test for both Lawson and Ciccone, who has opposed prior gun bills and has said he sells a small numbers to friends and family. On May 20, the state Ciccone, a Providence Democrat, is one of 99 federal firearms license holders in Rhode Island who would be affected by a proposed ban on assault-style weapons. The Ethics Commission voted 8 to 1 for an advisory opinion that says Ciccone falls under the ethics code's 'class exception,' which says public officials don't have a conflict of interest if legislation would not help or hurt them any more than any other member of a business, profession, or group. Senator Leonidas P. Raptakis, a Coventry Democrat, voted against the bill in committee, saying, 'I need to emphasize my disgust that we are once again abridging our Second Amendment rights for all Rhode Islanders. No form of firearms ban is acceptable under the guise of making us safer.' Raptakis predicted the residents will be less safe 'because law-abiding citizens will not be able to buy weapons to defend themselves next year.' The Rhode Island Coalition Against Gun Violence, which emphasized that it's the only Rhode Island-based gun control advocacy group, asked advocates to ask senators to support the version of the bill passed by the House. Advertisement 'Our No. 1 goal is to keep Rhode Islanders as safe as possible from preventable gun violence,' coalition Executive Director Melissa Carden said in a statement. And she said the House-passed bill was the 'result of years of collaboration of gun safety advocates and legislators getting to the best bill possible.' 'At a time when the federal government is rolling back gun safety measures across the board, the states need to do all they can to make sure our communities and families are safe,' Carden said. She noted that Attorney General Peter F. Neronha had backed the House-passed bill and said he would defend it in court. On Bluesky, Providence resident Suzanne Ellis Wernevi asked Neronha to weigh in on the revised gun bill. Neronha replied, 'It's an approach followed by some states like Washington. We haven't looked at it carefully. I support the version passed by the House, which we studied carefully and participated in the drafting of, and which best preserves public safety.' House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi, a Warwick Democrat, issued a statement, and said, 'I am withholding comment until the entire Senate considers the bill. The final bill is subject to change on the Senate floor, so it would be premature to comment at this time.' Edward Fitzpatrick can be reached at
Yahoo
26-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Each side on RI's proposed 'assault weapons ban' is rallying the troops. What they're saying.
PROVIDENCE – The opposing sides in this year's battle over a proposed "assault weapons" ban began their rallying campaigns days ago. The gun lobby has spent days trying to get as many Rhode Island gun owners as possible into gun stores to pick up yellow "2nd Amendment" T-shirts in the hopes that they'll wear them to the State House on Wednesday so lawmakers see how many people oppose the ban, which is up for hearing that day. "Of course if you're in a pinch, any yellow shirt will work," the local organizing group, RI Gun Rights, advised on its website. The other side in this perennial debate – the side that believes the fewer "military-style" weapons on the street, the less chance of a mass shooting – has put out an urgent call to its own backers to show up wearing orange. "This is one of the most important days at the State House to make our voices heard," the Rhode Island Coalition Against Gun Violence wrote in an email blast. "The gun extremists will be out in full force and we need to have a great presence!" A recent poll conducted for the Rhode Island AFL-CIO by the well-established Fleming & Associates found 64% of Rhode Islanders support a ban on the sale and manufacture of "assault weapons." And the chances of passage appeared better at the start of this legislative session than they have in years, with majority support in both chambers and Senate President Dominick Ruggerio leaving the door open for the first time. The proposed ban is one of several bills on the House Judiciary agenda that is vehemently opposed by gun owners who, in scores of letters sent to the lawmakers in advance of the hearing, describe the legislation as an affront to their 2nd Amendment right to bear arms. Here is a sampling of the written testimony that continues to stream in from both sides: "Let me tell you who we are," wrote Scott Adams of West Warwick. "We are sportsmen, we enjoy anything from simple target practice, skills competition, hunting and even collecting antique firearms." "We are responsible. We keep our firearms stored in a safe manner. We are not the people you see in the movies, sitting at the kitchen table, with a pile of drugs, alcohol, stacks of cash and loaded firearms scattered around the kitchen. In fact, the gun range I go to has a sign before you walk in that says, 'if you smell of marijuana for any reason, you will be asked to leave'." "We have a constitutional right to keep and bear arms," he wrote. His solution to the perceived gun problem? "I believe school kids should be educated in the safe handling of firearms. We need to lock criminals up for committing crimes. There needs to be better programs for helping the mentally ill," and better control of video games, he wrote. From the other side came this letter from Maureen Mooney of Newport: "I am tired on reading about shooters going in schools and public spaces and killing people. This needs to stop." "We cannot continue to put these guns in the hands of those who have proven anger issues. Please pass this common-sense gun safety bill out of committee and to the House floor with a recommendation for passage,'' she begged. Another from the pro-gun side: "How many times has one lunatic shot up a bar or a crowd for no reason at Any-Place USA? And the media eats it up, jumping on the opportunity to put this random act of violence in everyone's face and drumming up fear that guns are public enemy number one," wrote Aaron Laramee. "This is pushed all over the media as a 'mass shooting.' Sounds scary, doesn't it? It's supposed to! That's how 'woke/progressive' groups get the un-knowing/un-thinking anti-gun public behind them," Laramee continued. "They want you to believe that every time you go out in public there's an incredible risk of being shot by these 'Pro-Gunner,' '2nd Amendment lunatics.'" "I will NOT register ANY of my firearms!" he vowed. And this from the pro-ban side: Bruce Daigle, a retired principal at St. Patrick Academy, a small Catholic high school on Smith Hill, offered a different perspective on the "psychological impact" of the repeated "active shooter drills ... our students will go through almost 200 times before they graduate." "Living [with] the fear of annihilation as these children sit in a classroom, church, or theater, or walk through a shopping mall is as much an assault on them as the violent acts they prepare to face," he wrote. A sampling: Assault Weapons Ban: Rep. Jason Knight is the lead sponsor of H5436, co-sponsored by more than half the House, that contains a long list of features on what would qualify as an "assault weapon." Juvenile records: Rep. Carol McEntee is the lead sponsor of H5651 to allow disclosure of juvenile criminal records for firearm background checks. Hate crime exclusion: Rep. Jennifer Boylan is the lead sponsor of H5652 precluding anyone who has pleaded nolo or been convicted of a misdemeanor "hate" crime from purchasing, owning or possessing a firearm. Expunged records: On behalf of the attorney general, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Robert Craven introduced H5889 allowing a law enforcement agency to consider expunged records when issuing a license or permit to carry a pistol or revolver, and Rep. Edith Ajello introduced H5891 to disqualify individuals with prior felony convictions from purchasing or possessing a firearm. Concealed carry permits: Rep. Kathleen Fogarty is the lead sponsor of H5654 to prohibit local licensing authorities from issuing a concealed carry permit to out-of-state residents based on permits issued by authorities from other states. Republicans, led by freshman Rep. Richard Fascia, have introduced H5935 to allow out-of-state concealed carry permits in some cases. Firearm licenses: A group of pro-gun Republicans and Democrats, led by Rep. Thomas Noret, a retired police officer, have introduced H5936 to create an appeal process for denied applications to carry a handgun. This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: RI assault weapons ban bill will bring hundreds out to the State House
