Who will legislators heed on gun safety?

Posted 1/17/19

To the Editor: In her inaugural address, Governor Raimondo reiterated her call for a ban on so-called assault weapons and high-capacity magazines." This notwithstanding that the report of her hand picked working group on gun safety could not agree on a"

This item is available in full to subscribers.

Please log in to continue

E-mail
Password
Log in

Who will legislators heed on gun safety?

Posted

To the Editor:

In her inaugural address, Governor Raimondo reiterated her call for a ban on so-called “assault weapons and high-capacity magazines.” This notwithstanding that the report of her hand picked working group on gun safety could not agree on a ban on “military style rifles.”

The “working group” was comprised of 40 members and three of the governor’s staffers who were assigned for support. Not a single representative of the Second Amendment community was on the group. The co-chairs were an emergency room doctor who heads up an anti-firearms physicians’ organization and a former state police officer who previously testified in support of gun control bills.

The agenda of the group was driven by the governor’s chief legal counsel, Adi Goldstein, who has been rewarded with the number two position in the new attorney general’s office.

The report did recommend a ban on ammunition feeding devices holding more than ten bullets. Why ten is the magic number remains a mystery. Does a magazine holding, say, 12 rounds make the gun 20 percent more lethal?

Colorado allows magazines holding up to 15 rounds; New York says the limit is seven; Vermont decrees that 15 bullets in an handgun is okay but you cannot have more than 10 in a rifle.

Connecticut allowed those owning high capacity magazines to keep them so long as they do not load more than ten rounds in them. Will a madman heading for a school or shopping mall to wreak havoc observe the magazine limitation?

With a modicum of practice a person can swap magazines in less than two seconds. Does anyone seriously believe two seconds is significant in a mass shooting scenario?

Governor Raimondo has made it clear she is opposed to common sense school security measures such as metal detectors because she thinks they would frighten students. It doesn’t seem to bother them when they go to the airport for a flight to Disney World or to the State House for a class trip.

Of course, the idea of armed security personnel in schools sets the hair of fire of the anti-gun groups such as Moms Demand Action (funded by multi-billionaire Michael Bloomberg) and the Coalition Against Gun Violence (funded by the Hassenfeld Foundation among others).

The commission formed after the shooting at the Parkland, Florida high school issued a 458-page report just before year’s end. One of the recommendations is that teachers who receive special training be permitted to carry concealed guns in school. These would supplement deputy sheriffs and “guardians” who also receive training in school shooting scenarios.

Predictably, a member of the Broward County school board, Robin Bateman, said she doubts the board would support this recommendation. Ironically, current Florida law permits non-classroom personnel such as administrators, librarians and counselors as well as active duty military and ROTC instructors to be armed. It isn’t clear whether these persons need any special training to “pack heat” in school.

Some anti-gunners concede that armed school resource police officers are acceptable. The Stoneman Douglas Commission chaired by the sheriff of Pinellas County concluded that seven Broward County deputy sheriffs including the school’s resource officer “who arrived during the shooting but appeared to fail to take effective action.” As a result of the shooting the Broward County Sheriff’s Department required all school deputies to take a week of active shooter and tactical training and be issued carbines as well as handguns. This implies that they lacked that training and equipment prior to the tragedy.

The report acknowledges that funding for training and arming personnel is an issue. The commission recommended that school districts impose a special tax to pay for security measures.

Will Rhode Island’s political leaders consider the recommendations of the Broward County Commission that included parents of children slain at Stoneman Douglas High School or that of a “working group” with a clear anti-firearms bias?

Richard J. August

North Kingstown

Comments

7 comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here

  • davebarry109

    I am still waiting on a clear definition of 'assault weapon'. It's a made up term. Also, why do 'military style' weapons scare folks? They just 'look' like military weapons. What a bunch of pansies we have running things.

    Thursday, January 17, 2019 Report this

  • Cat2222

    I think being afraid of a weapon that has the capacity to shoot multiple rounds of ammunition per second is a rather normal response. If you aren't the person holding it, that is. My fear isn't really misplaced based on the fact that there have been numerous recent occurrences where multiple people have been killed by a "military style" weapon. It's a shame that there are people that own these types of weapons that use them to harm others. In a perfect world, all gun owners would be responsible and peaceful.

    Friday, January 18, 2019 Report this

  • davebarry109

    Cat, the overwhelming number of shootings are done with handguns. Long guns are a tiny amount of the shootings. The fear of firearms, particularly how they look, is really a phobia. I recommend taking a firearms class and learning how to shoot. Most people, the governor especially, don't know sh*t from shinola about firearms and embarrass themselves with stupid comments about 'military style' firearms. Most hunting rifles are far more powerful than an AR15.

    Friday, January 18, 2019 Report this

  • Justanidiot

    Happiness is a warm gun lobby.

    Saturday, January 19, 2019 Report this

  • Jasjames

    The answer is alot easier. Do what South Dakota is doing. Allow for concealed carry without permits for all law abiding adult residents of the State. Then there will be no gun free zones. No soft targets, and the active shootings will decrease or the number of deaths at the scene will go down immensely. The violent crime rate will fall precipitously in RI. The progressive democratic plan for America, at EVERY level, is a recipe for disaster for RI. and America.

    Thursday, January 31, 2019 Report this

  • Happy

    Our Governor, who I refused to vote for, just continues to recommend new laws that punish law abiding citizens like us! Why, and I ask why for the umpteenth time, don't they put stiffer laws in place against people who get pulled over, have a gun and it is not registered? Like a mandatory year in prison, similar to the laws of DUI. She refuses to take a bite out of crime committed by criminals but has no problem making additional laws for law abiding citizens to follow. Just look at her position on Illegal Aliens, I rest my case, the people love her and voted her in.

    Friday, February 1, 2019 Report this

  • Happy

    Our Governor, who I refused to vote for, just continues to recommend new laws that punish law abiding citizens like us! Why, and I ask why for the umpteenth time, don't they put stiffer laws in place against people who get pulled over, have a gun and it is not registered? Like a mandatory year in prison, similar to the laws of DUI. She refuses to take a bite out of crime committed by criminals but has no problem making additional laws for law abiding citizens to follow. Just look at her position on Illegal Aliens, I rest my case, the people love her and voted her in.

    Friday, February 1, 2019 Report this