By Dave Workman
Editor-in-Chief
Members of the Rhode Island state Senate Judiciary Committee got an earful from supporters and opponents of gun control legislation including a safe storage bill, a measure to ban so-called “assault weapons,” and a third bill limiting gun purchases to one per month.
According to the Providence Journal, the safe storage bill sponsored by Sen. Pam Lauria passed out of committee on a party line vote and now goes to the full Senate for action.
The House Judiciary Committee was hearing companion legislation Wednesday.
The safe storage bill drew plenty of criticism, with opponents arguing that mandatory storage laws “do nothing except tip the scales towards criminals in self-defense scenarios where seconds matter.” They argued that the measure would only “create more innocent victims.”
Opponents of the proposed semi-auto ban contended the guns are wrongly labeled with a political term. Such firearms, one man argued, do not really exist.
WJAR reported that the storage bill adds rifles and shotguns “to the type of firearms that require a trigger lock to be included with purchase.”
The Journal story noted that Everytown for Gun Safety, the Michael Bloomberg-backed gun prohibition lobbying group, provided a list of mass shooters who all “obtained their firearms legally or via private sale.” While the gun control group’s purpose was to show the need for a ban, it also indicated unintentionally that background checks haven’t worked.
The Journal article quoted Stephen Dambruch, head of the attorney general’s criminal division, who referred to the tragic 2022 shooting death of Dillon Viens. He stunningly told the committee, “We don’t have to wait as we do now until after the tragedy happens, until after a young man like Dillon Viens is shot and killed in Johnston, R.I. by an unsecured firearm.”
But Viens was not killed “by an unsecured firearm,” he was killed by a person misusing the firearm. As noted last year by the Warwick Beacon, police arrested the juvenile suspect and he was charged with manslaughter. The adult gun owner was also subsequently charged.
Testimony during the Senate committee hearing was emotional and Senate Democrats clearly believe the safe storage mandate will prevent tragic accidental shootings involving children. They consider the measure to be a “common sense” strategy. Senate President Dominick Ruggerio congratulated Sen. Lauria for “her leadership” on the safe storage bill.
However, critics of her proposal contend they penalize law-abiding gun owners while criminals remain unscathed, and bureaucrats continue to blame firearms instead of the people who misuse them.
