Jerry Belair – RI Future

May 20, 2016May 20, 2016

RI poll shows strong support for modest gun law reform

Deprecated: Function get_magic_quotes_gpc() is deprecated in /hermes/bosnacweb08/bosnacweb08bf/b1577/ipg.rifuturecom/RIFutureNew/wp-includes/formatting.php on line 4387

Jerry Belair, President of the Rhode Island Coalition Against Gun Violence (RICAGV) had hinted at the poll results during the recent rally against gun violence outside the State House, but yesterday the coalition released the full poll on Rhode Islander’s attitudes towards some common sense gun legislation currently under review by the General Assembly, and the numbers were staggering.

92% of Voters Support Restricting Possession of Guns by Domestic Violence Offenders
82% of Voters Support Restricting the Carrying of Concealed Guns in Elementary Schools
75% of Voters Support Limiting the Number of Bullets in Magazines to 10 Rounds

Remarkably, in Speaker Nicholas Mattiello‘s own district, the numbers for keeping guns out of the hands of domestic abusers is higher than the state wide pol, at 95%. Mattiello has an ‘A’ rating from the National Rifle association (NRA) and has been obstinately opposed to any proposed gun legislation. In the case of ethics reform, it took a disaster to change the Speaker’s mind. Is the Speaker waiting for another kind of disaster to occur before he gets behind common sense gun reform?

You can watch the full press conference below. The bills under consideration are: No Guns in Schools (H7243, S2761), Disarm Domestic Abusers (H7283, S2730, S2491) and the High Capacity Magazine Ban (H7199, S2835)

You can access the full poll here.

2016-05-19 RICAGV 09 — Rep Aaron Regunberg

April 28, 2016April 28, 2016

RI Coalition Against Gun Violence holds 2nd annual State House rally

Deprecated: Function get_magic_quotes_gpc() is deprecated in /hermes/bosnacweb08/bosnacweb08bf/b1577/ipg.rifuturecom/RIFutureNew/wp-includes/formatting.php on line 4387

The RICAGV (Rhode Island Coalition Against Gun Violence) held their second annual rally outside the State House, reaffirming their support for three critical pieces of legislation that would ban guns on school grounds, take guns away from domestic abusers and limit magazine capacity to ten rounds. The General Assembly has shown little appetite for these bills in past years, though there are some signs that some sort of compromise bill on keeping guns out of the hands of domestic abusers might pass this year.

This rally comes after a punishing Senate Judiciary hearing Tuesday night that lasted until after midnight. (I’ll have a piece on that over the weekend.) Speaking about Tuesday night’s hearing, Jerry Belair, president of the RICAGV, said that though he doesn’t like to speak ill of any elected officials, Senators Stephen R. Archambault (Democrat District 22, Smithfield, North Providence, Johnston) and Frank S. Lombardi (Democrat – Distict 26, Cranston), “did more testifying than almost anybody else. They seemed to be unwilling to listen.”

Between the first three witnesses, all representing the gun lobby, and the Senators own “testimony” it took three hours before a single member of the public representing the other side of the argument could testify, said Belair. When his side finally got to speak, said Belair, the Senators did everything they could to interrupt and disagree, “doing everything they could to not make us as effective” in delivering our message.

Belair teased a poll that the RICAGV will be releasing soon that indicates that Rhode Islanders, 3 to 1, want a ten round magazine limit. The same poll says 4 to 1 Rhode Islanders don’t want guns in schools (contrary to Senator Lombardi’s fantasy scenario spelled out here), and 92 percent of Rhode Islanders don’t want domestic violence offenders to possess guns.

The bills to disarm domestic abusers are House Bill 7283 and Senate Bill 2730.

The bills to keep guns out of schools is House Bill 7243 and Senate Bill 2761.

The bills to ban high capacity magazines are House Bill 7199 and Senate Bill 2835.

The RICAGV is encouraging Rhode Islanders to contact their elected officials and demand their support.

Below is all the music and speakers from the rally, plus plenty of pictures.

January 22, 2016January 22, 2016

Trio of common sense gun bills introduced in the House

Deprecated: Function get_magic_quotes_gpc() is deprecated in /hermes/bosnacweb08/bosnacweb08bf/b1577/ipg.rifuturecom/RIFutureNew/wp-includes/formatting.php on line 4387

Last year, when Speaker Nicholas Mattiello brought the legislative season to an abrupt end, he said that the bills that did not come to the floor were “not very consequential” and “just not as important” as the legislation he had dealt with and passed. Among the bills that Mattiello deemed inconsequential and unimportant were three that dealt with guns.

Those three bills have just been reintroduced in the House.

H7199 criminalizes the manufacture, import, possession, purchase, sale or transfer of any ammunition feeding device capable of accepting more than ten rounds. Two years ago, when this bill was first introduced, 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 deer and ducks, how can we not limit the number of rounds to protect our children and citizens?”

H7243 provides that only peace officers and persons approved by the school authorities for the purposes of educational instruction may carry firearms or other weapons on school grounds. A similar bill was introduced last year and died in committee. Apparently the idea that someone might bring a gun into a school in Rhode Island without the knowledge of school administrators does not bother our legislature.

H7283 prohibits any person convicted of a misdemeanor offense under §12-29-2 (a crime involving domestic violence) from purchasing, owning, transporting, carrying, or possessing any firearm. A similar bill submitted last year died in committee after Frank Saccoccio of the Second Amendment Coalition successfully mischaracterized the bill as a gun grab in both the House and Senate committee meetings.

Last year a poll indicated that 80 percent of Rhode Islanders want to keep guns out of the hands of domestic abusers, yet when it came time for action, the General Assembly, under the leadership of Speaker Mattiello deemed the bills above “not very consequential” and “just not as important.”

What has to change in Rhode Island before common sense gun legislation can be passed? Mattiello has an A+ (100 percent) rating with the National Rifle Association (NRA). Senate President M Teresa Paiva-Weed has an A (93 percent) rating from the NRA.

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.

Gun Control 02

Gun Control 03

Gun Control 04

Gun Control 05

Gun Control 06

Gun Control 07

Gun Control 08

Gun Control 09

Gun Control 10

Sam Bell

Gun Control 12