To the editor:

Last night, the Tiverton Town Council voted down a resolution that would have declared Tiverton a “second amendment sanctuary town” by a vote of 4-3 Councilors Perry, Hilton, deMedeiros and Driggs were “nay” votes. The resolution is just another push from extremist groups who have been attempting to motivate rural towns to disobey gun safety laws under the premise that their Second Amendment rights are being constitutionally compromised.

At the hearing, Tiverton residents and gun safety experts spoke out about why this was not the case. “To be clear none of the current laws on the books in Rhode Island or any of the proposed laws submitted by the Attorney General violate the Second Amendment.” said RICAGV President Linda Finn. “None of the laws proposed would require any firearms to be confiscated from law-abiding gun owners. The idea that local police will be confiscating and  stockpiling hundreds of weapons that would need extra storage is just not the case”

Last night’s votes signal a larger trend occurring across the state — organizers, activists and citizens are standing up and speaking out about the need to strengthen our state’s gun laws. While neighboring states in Massachusetts and Connecticut have acted swiftly following tragedy to pass laws banning dangerous military style weapons, high capacity magazines  and to prohibit guns in schools, Rhode Island continuously trails behind, leaving our communities vulnerable. While Tiverton took a vote to potentially weaken law enforcement’s ability to enforce laws that provide public safety, at the State House, the Senate Judiciary Committee passed Senator Coyne’s Ghost Gun Bill (SB0084).

However, in a statement posted by Tiverton Councilor Justin Katz, “Thinking the matter over, people began to leave, and the president stated repeatedly during the break that the matter was still open. After the recess Councilor Driggs made it clear that she had voted against the motion as stated because she wanted to make a (relatively minor) change to the language. After some discussion of process and concern that people had left, the council decided to move the rest of the agenda, including the discussion of the Second Amendment Sanctuary Town resolution, to a special meeting on Monday, June 3, at 7 p.m.”

The Rhode Island Coalition Against Gun Violence is optimistic that the Town Council will recognize that the only the courts have the power to decide which bills are unconstitutional and that this vote has already caused dissension in the town and again reject this motion on June 3 if another vote is taken.

Kat Kerwin

Director of Communications

Rhode Island Coalition Against Gun Violence