March 19, 2014

Watch the highlights: Rhode Island Coalition Against Gun Violence at State House

Gun Control 01 Jerry Belair, president of the Rhode Island Coalition Against Gun Violence asked the following question, “Rhode Island law limits the number of rounds to five when hunting deer. Rhode Island law limits the number of rounds to three when hunting ducks. If we can limit the number of rounds in a firearm to protect dear and ducks, how can we not limit the number of rounds to protect our children and citizens?”

Referring to the crowd that filled the main rotunda under the dome of the Rhode Island State House to advocate for sensible gun control, State Senator Josh Miller said, “This is what a majority looks like… A majority is a wide coalition…” that voted “in Exeter over two to one in favor of people who favor gun legislation.”

Shortly after her election to the Rhode Island House, Representative Linda Finn was contacted by Carl Cunningham Sr., who told her the story of his son, Carl Jr., who was killed the year before. “Carl was shot by a jealous ex-boyfriend of a friend he was visiting,” says Finn, “He wasn’t the intended target, he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

“By a two to one margin, Rhode Islanders want to ban assault weapons. We have a very small percentage of gun owners in this state, less than 13%. It’s time for us to act, it’s time to do what the majority of Rhode Islanders want us to do, which is to ban assault weapons ban high magazine capacity and get our domestic violence laws in line with Federal laws.”

Nan Heroux calls herself an “accidental activist” motivated by a need to help protect “her grandchildren and yours” as a member of Moms Demand Action.

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Sam Bell

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March 19, 2014

Teny Gross: Does the gun lobby have a racial problem?

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Teny Gross, Executive Director of the Institute for the Study & Practice of Nonviolence, did not pull any punches yesterday as he spoke to a crowd gathered under the dome of the Rhode Island State House about class, race and gun violence. Guns are the leading cause of death for young black men and it’s the second leading cause of death for young men in general in the United States, according to Gross.

“I’m not a prophet,” said Gross, “but I will make a very sure prediction today. You can take it to Wall St. and bank on it. There will be another Sandy Hook. There will be many more Sandy Hooks in the United States. It is partially, in large part, because of the proclivity and the looseness and the stubbornness of a small group of leaders in the NRA and their local supporters. I recommend to the NRA members that are here: Start thinking about a compromise. This is not about the Second Amendment. No right is absolute.”

Gross had some tough words for Representative Doreen Costa, who at the time was outside the State House at the anti-common sense gun laws rally.

“The one comment from last year that really rings in my head and it was recently reawakened is Representative Costa saying at a hearing that [gun violence] doesn’t happen in Exeter, [gun violence] happens in the inner city. Recently a letter to the newspaper… also said this violence is an inner city problem. Last I checked, the inner city is part of the United States of America and they’re citizens.”

“I have a question,” asked Gross, putting it all out on the table, “Does the gun lobby have a racial problem? Let’s put the elephant right here in the room.”

Not compromising on reasonable gun legislation and refusing to work with law enforcement suggests that, “you think that your children are not dying, it’s other children. Are some Americans worth less if their skin color is darker?… On some streets it’s okay when there’s death and some streets it’s not okay? Some children dying is okay and some children dying is not okay? Tell us? This is an open question.”

“Let’s be honest,” continued Gross, “Sandy Hook got a lot of press partially because it was white kids in a privileged community.”

March 19, 2014March 19, 2014

Combined reporting would close tax loophole for retail giants, big box stores

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Rhode Island missed out on somewhere between $40 and $100 million in 2011 and 2012, according this new report. That’s because in 2011, the General Assembly rejected Gov. Chafee’s idea to implement what is known as “combined reporting” for corporate taxes and instead called for the aforementioned report.

The study found that combined reporting would have earned Rhode Islanders between $23 and $54 million in 2011 and between $21 and $44 million in 2012, depending on the accounting method used. The larger number focuses on just sales while the smaller number also factors in payroll and property. Read the overview here and watch video from last night of state Division of Taxation employees explain it the Senate Finance Committee.

Combined reporting combats the corporate practice of doing business in one state and utilizes the tax advantages of another state. The Institute for Taxation and Economic Policy called combined reporting “the most effective approach to combating corporate tax avoidance.” 23 states and the District of Columbia use combined reporting, including most New England states.

Rep. Teresa Tanzi, a progressive Democrat who represents Narragansett and South Kingstown, has sponsored legislation this year and in the past two legislative sessions that would implement combined reporting.

“The fundamental justification for combined report is a robust corporate tax that can’t be gamed by aggressive corporate tax planning while creating a level playing field between big multistate corporations and smaller, local corporations,” she said in an email to me. “Nonetheless, I am gratified that the study confirmed that Combined Reporting would give a modest boost to revenues that could be used to help the state address its unmet needs, and we now have the numbers to show the advantage certain corporations have.”

Most local businesses would not be affected by combined reporting, according to the study. It found 28 percent were negatively affected and 6 percent experienced a tax advantage.

“Any company that has a large presence here, property and payroll, is not really affected,” state Tax Director Dave Sullivan told the Senate Finance Committee last night. “companies that do not have a big footprint here and have maybe one or two retail outlets here may actually see an adverse affect in tax increases with single sales factor. If all their property and payroll are out of state and they have a significant number of sales because they have, we use the example of big box stores here in this state…”

Massachusetts and Vermont both implemented combined reporting in the same year they lowered their overall corporate tax rate. State tax officials told the Senate Finance Committee both states improved their Tax Foundation rankings after doing so.

March 19, 2014March 19, 2014

How will Raimondo pay for her $60 million cut?

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Gina Raimondo’s recent policy proposal on infrastructure raises a lot of math questions, but here’s one of the most glaring: How is she going to pay for the $60 million she wants to spend each year on school construction? She really doesn’t say.

She tells us she’ll simply find the money by “taking just half of a cent” out of the sales tax, but those dollars are already being spent on other things. So here’s a really basic question no one else is asking her: What is she going to cut out of the general fund to pay for the $60 million in sales tax dollars she’s redirecting? And what impact would those cuts have on job creation?

Progressives have lots of great ideas for closing budgetary gaps. In Rhode Island, our favorite idea is probably repealing the 2006 income tax cuts for the rich. It’s an easy solution, but conservatives don’t like it. So I’m very curious to see how Raimondo proposes to find $60 million.

Raimondo’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment.

March 19, 2014

Newtown Action Alliance’s Po Murray: It can happen anywhere

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Vice-chair and co-founder of Newtown Action Alliance Po Murray gave a moving speech at the State House yesterday about living in the aftermath of an unspeakable tragedy like that which occurred at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Connecticut on December 14, 2012. Murray spoke of the devastation wrought in under five minutes by a man wielding a “lethal killing machine, the AR-15.” Twenty children and six educators died that day.

“Our hearts broke into a million pieces and our community was shattered,” said Murray, “but many of us felt the need to move swiftly to take action to honor the lives lost.”

Murray has lived in the Sandy Hook section of Newtown for over 14 years, in one of the safest neighborhood in Connecticut. The shooter, with a stock pile of weapons and ammunition, lived 50 yards from her home. Murray’s four children all graduated from Sandy Hook Elementary School.

“I am not able to leave my neighborhood without driving past numerous homes of the families who have lost their children on December 14th,” she said. “Our community is still reeling from the massacre. There has been a huge human and economic cost associated with moving the community forward.”

Murray implored the legislature to pass new and effective gun control measures because, “if a mass shooting with a lethal machine with a high capacity magazine can happen in my town, it can happen anywhere.”

March 19, 2014March 19, 2014

Rev. Gene announces Religious Coalition for a Violence-Free Rhode Island

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The Reverend Gene Dyszlewski, a prominent religious figure in the battle for marriage equality, welcomed the arrival of a “new conversation about gun violence” at the State House yesterday with the announcement of the formation of the Religious Coalition for a Violence-Free Rhode Island (RCVFRI).

This is a group of about 80 (and growing) religious leaders from a variety of religious perspectives who maintain “a core belief in the dignity of human life” and that gun violence is “an unequivocal violation of that human dignity.”

RCVFRI is also a member of Rhode Island Coalition Against Gun Violence (RICAGV), with a mission to “invite all Rhode Islanders to engage in a serious and reasonable discussion about how to curb gun violence” and call upon “the legislature to enact reasonable, sensible gun control regulations and ask for support for evidence based violence disruption programs.”

Reverend Gene picked the date for his announcement weeks ago, reserving the rotunda for the announcement of his religious coalition long before a date was set to hear testimony on fifteen gun related bills that brought large coalitions on both sides of the issue to the State House. While outside the State House over two hundred people representing groups opposed to sensible actions to curb gun violence rallied supporters through fear and paranoia, under the dome about half that number embraced common sense, optimism and a sense of a historic turn in the dialog on guns in the United States.

Reverend Gene introduced the other speakers during the half hour program, including RICAGV President Jerry Belair, Senator Josh Miller, Representative Linda Finn, the local director of Moms Demand Action, Nan Heroux, Co-chair and co-founder of Newtown Action Alliance Po Murray, and Teny Gross of the Institute for the Study and Practice of Nonviolence. I’ll have more on these speakers in a later post.

March 19, 2014March 19, 2014

Resiliency in Rhode Island: a panel discussion on climate change

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As part of Fossil Free Rhode Island’s ongoing fossil fuel divestment campaigns, the organization is sponsoring a panel discussion on climate change organized by the Rhode Island Climate Coalition (RISCC).

WHAT: Resiliency In Rhode Island: a panel discussion on climate change
WHEN: March 19, 2014, 7pm
WHERE: Lippitt Hall, Room 402, URI Kingston, RI 02881

From rising seas to severe storms such as Hurricane Sandy and Winter Storm Nemo to record heat waves, floods, and droughts, the challenges posed by climate change are intensifying around the world, the US, and in Rhode Island with its 420 mile shoreline … while it lasts.

Rhode Island is already experiencing the effects. From big storms to urban heat, the challenges posed by climate change are on the rise.

Forum speakers will outline the challenges climate change poses for communities and governance. There will be a discussion about how Rhode Island can tap its creative capacity and unique assets to respond to climate change in a way that will improve the lives of all its citizens.

The event presents an exciting opportunity for the community to get involved in the conversation and in new climate initiatives.

Speakers at the Climate Forum will include:

Margiana Petersen-Rockney — Rosasharn Farm, Young Farmer’s Network
Julian Rodriguez-Drix — Environmental Justice League
Jim Bruckshaw — OSHA Consultant from Matunuck
Judith Swift — URI Coastal Institute
ECO Youth organizers such as Abe Vargas, Kendra Monzon, and Juliana Rodriguez

In June of 2013, Fossil Free Rhode Island requested that the URI Foundation divest from fossil fuels. In a letter received today, this request was turned down. The URI Foundation expressed its commitment to honor the intent of its donors by investing responsibly, implying that divestment was at odds with this.

Clearly, whatever destroys Earth cannot possibly be a responsible investment. This obviously is a view shared by those alumni who told me in recent days that they plan to form an alternative fund in which deposits can be held until the URI decides to divest. This latest development will certainly be part of the panel discussion.

The event is sponsored by:

Rhode Island Student Climate Coalition, a statewide alliance of students and youth working for a clean, safe, and just future for all
Fossil Free Rhode Island, taking action for climate justice, urging public institutions to divest from fossil fuels as the only moral choice
URI Multicultural Center, dedicated to the development —by means of social justice, change and empowerment — of a campus united across culture, identity, and discipline.