RICAGV Press Release
Statement on HB 8119 – Legalizing Civilian Ownership of Stun Guns (Tazers)
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 19, 2018
CONTACT: Kat Kerwin, Director of Communications
Providence, Rhode Island (June 19, 2018) –
The Rhode Island Coalition Against Gun Violence board stands with the Rhode Island law enforcement community in opposition to House Bill 8119. This bill was not afforded a meaningful public hearing by the House Judiciary Committee and is an obvious attempt to deny public debate on a serious matter.
If passed this bill would permit 18 year-olds to carry stun guns. Under current law, persons must be 21 to purchase handguns. They must also obtain a concealed carry permit to carry a handgun in public. This bill seeks to bypass these important safeguards.
Essentially, this proposed law is an attempt by the corporate gun lobby to promote “starter guns” to young people- with a larger goal of encouraging firearm ownership. It is part of the gun lobby’s “guns everywhere” agenda and an attempt to normalize guns.
Like the tobacco industry’s promotion of e-cigarettes the gun lobby is promoting tasers as a safer alternative to guns. However they are much more lethal than advertised. Tasers are also known to cause cardiac arrest in otherwise healthy individuals, and according to a PBS report, since 2000, police have killed more than 1,000 people with tasers. Tasers then are not a safe alternative to firearms, but rather carry their own lethality.
Passage of a bill that permits the sale of lethal weapons deserves a timely and thorough debate before the house and senate judiciary committee, thoughtful consideration of data and the impact of passing a bill of this kind.
We respectfully implore the General Assembly to vote no on the passage of this bill.
RICAGV Responds to Tragic Mass Shooting at Brown University
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Oscar-Nominated Film Screening of “Death by Numbers”
RICAGV hosted the Rhode Island debut screening of “Death By Numbers.” Held at the Providence Public Library the Oscar nominated film, directed by Kim A. Snyder, was attend by writer and participant Sam Fuentes who spoke with the audience at a Q&A session that followed.
Taking a Step in the Right Direction for Gun Safety in RI!
Thank you to all of the advocates and partners who joined us in Governor McKee’s State Room on Thursday, June 26th, to mark the passage of the “Unlawful Sale of Prohibited Firearms Act.”