Advocates,
survivors support bill to keep guns from domestic abusers
STATE HOUSE – Rep. Teresa Tanzi and Sen.
Cynthia A. Coyne were joined by public safety advocates today in support of
their legislation to prohibit gun possession by those subject to domestic
violence protective orders and to allow courts to ban domestic abusers from having
guns.
Members of the Rhode Island chapter of Moms
Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, part of Everytown for Gun Safety,
joined the sponsors in a news conference on the legislation and lobbied
lawmakers to support the legislation (2015-S
0503, 2015-H
5655).
The bill would require courts to order the
surrender of firearms by those who are subject to a restraining order for
domestic abuse for as long as the restraining order is in effect. It would also
prohibit a restrained person from purchasing, receiving, or attempting to
purchase or receive a firearm during that time.
Additionally, it would allow
the courts to prohibit domestic abusers from having guns. The bill also
tightens up the language of existing law, requiring specifically that guns be
surrendered to the Rhode Island State Police, local police departments or a
licensed gun dealer.
Said Representative Tanzi (D-Dist. 34, South
Kingstown, Narragansett), “I’ve been an advocate for the safety of Rhode Island
women for a long time. The most important thing we can do to help domestic
violence victims is to keep guns out of the hands of their abusers. It is time
for Rhode Island to join the list of proactive states that have addressed this
problem—we need to pass H 5655 and S 503.”
In April, Everytown for Gun Safety Action fund
and Rhode Island Moms Demand Action released a poll showing that four
out of five Rhode Islanders support the change the bill would make.
“This legislative session, Rhode Island has the
chance to take a big step to help women in our state who are at risk,” said
Jennifer Smith Boylan, volunteer chapter leader of the Rhode Island Chapter of
Moms Demand Action. “Thankfully we have nearly 10,000 Rhode Island Everytown
supporters behind us, and the overwhelming support of the public—four out of
five people in our state agree domestic abusers should not have access to
guns.”
At the news conference in support of the bill,
the sponsors and the organization were joined by Lieutenant Governor Daniel
McKee as well as Barrington resident Laura Hastings, a survivor of domestic
violence.
“Take it from someone who has experienced
domestic violence firsthand — the last thing needed in a domestic violence
situation is a gun,” said Hastings. “Rhode Island continues to lag behind our
neighbors in Connecticut and Massachusetts in denying domestic abusers access
to guns. Let’s fix that by passing these bills.”
Recently, five Rhode Island mayors from cities
representing hundreds of thousands of Rhode Islanders signed a letter urging
lawmakers to pass the legislation. The letter stated that, in passing the bill,
the state could “both support the Second Amendment and do more to protect
victims of domestic violence.”
Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America is a
grassroots movement of American mothers started after the tragedy at Sandy Hook
Elementary School to fight for public safety measures that respect the Second
Amendment and protect people from gun violence. Everytown is the largest gun
violence prevention organization in the country with more than 2.5 million
supporters and more than 40,000 donors including moms, mayors, survivors and
everyday Americans.