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.
Legislative Update ~ A Message To RICAGV Supporters
We are endlessly grateful for your effort and support, especially during the final weeks of the legislative session! And, we are so proud to have persisted – together – throughout the process to pass an assault weapons ban for Rhode Island. We never strayed from our vision for the strongest, life-saving legislation possible and have done everything in our power to reach it.
Senate President Dominick Ruggerio, in third bout with cancer, is resolute about his role.
As a proud − and some close to him say “stubborn” − 75-year-old Italian man who has been a part of Rhode Island’s political life for more than four decades, Senate President Dominick Ruggerio was not keen on talking about his health − or the very private conversation he had about it with his No. 2.
401GIVES DAY IS 4/1
We need YOU to join with us in our efforts to decrease gun violence by becoming a fundraising champion for 401Gives Day! 401Gives is on Monday, April 1st, 2024 from 6am 4/1 – 6pm on April 2.