Letter: Waiting to pass bills is putting lives at risk

Posted 3/29/17

To the editor:

As reported in the March 15, 2017 Barrington Times, a man from Barrington was arrested and charged with a slew of domestic violence related crimes including …

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Letter: Waiting to pass bills is putting lives at risk

Posted

To the editor:

As reported in the March 15, 2017 Barrington Times, a man from Barrington was arrested and charged with a slew of domestic violence related crimes including “domestic-­felony assault, domestic-­kidnapping, domestic-‐simple assault/battery.” The alleged assailant was also charged with “use of a firearm while committing a crime of violence.” He reportedly had an AR-­‐15 assault rifle. 

Fortunately, the female victim survived and has since been granted a restraining order against her abuser. All too often similar circumstances turn deadly. 

Research published in the American Journal of Public Health1 shows that when a gun is present in a domestic violence situation, the woman is five times more likely to be killed.

There is a gap between Rhode Island state law and federal law. Rhode Island law does not prohibit individuals convicted of domestic violence misdemeanors from possessing firearms while federal law does. Current state law provides judges with the discretion to decide whether an abuser subject to domestic violence restraining orders should be legally prohibited from buying and possessing guns. Sadly, research conducted by Everytown for Gun Safety found that here in Rhode Island judges ordered abusers to surrender their guns less than 13 percent of the time in domestic violence cases involving firearms. Discretion is not effective.

Elected leaders in the state legislature are working to protect our state’s most vulnerable citizens. Senator Harold Metts and Representative Teresa Tanzi introduced life-­saving bills, S405 and H5510. Enacting this legislation would fill the gap between Rhode Island law and federal law by requiring individuals convicted of domestic violence misdemeanors and those subject to final domestic abuse protective orders to surrender their firearms to law enforcement or licensed gun dealers. And this legislation would prohibit these individuals from buying and possessing firearms.

From 1980 to 2016, 232 Rhode Islanders died because of domestic violence, and guns were used in 48 percent of those killings, according to the Rhode Island Coalition Against Domestic Violence. As concerned citizens across the state, we must hold our elected leaders accountable and demand that they commit to protecting the lives of women, children, and families from domestic abuse. We must urge our state senators and representatives to vote in favor of these essential bills. The risk of waiting is literally life or death.

Catherine Zabriskie

Barrington

Volunteer for Rhode Island Chapter, Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense In America

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A lifelong Portsmouth resident, Jim graduated from Portsmouth High School in 1982 and earned a journalism degree from the University of Rhode Island in 1986. He's worked two different stints at East Bay Newspapers, for a total of 18 years with the company so far. When not running all over town bringing you the news from Portsmouth, Jim listens to lots and lots and lots of music, watches obscure silent films from the '20s and usually has three books going at once. He also loves to cook crazy New Orleans dishes for his wife of 25 years, Michelle, and their two sons, Jake and Max.