PROVIDENCE – Gov. Daniel J. McKee strengthened gun control in Rhode Island with a few strokes of a pen on Tuesday, signing into law bills that would ban firearm magazines that hold more than 10 rounds, raise from 18 to 21 the minimum age for buying guns and prohibit loaded rifles and shotguns from being carried in public.
“Today is about taking action and saving lives,” said McKee at a Statehouse bill-signing ceremony attended by a host of gun-control advocates. “Our nation is in crisis. It takes Americans advocating over a long period of time to get things done.”
Teresa A. Tanzi, D-South Kingstown, spoke for gun-violence victims. “I want to thank the survivors who are in this room today. We mourn not just for the loss of life but for those who survive and endure.”
The bills gained momentum after recent mass shootings in Buffalo, N.Y., and Uvalde, Texas, and cleared the R.I. House on June 10. The provisions of the act prohibiting loaded rifles and shotguns from being carried in public would not apply to law enforcement or to persons legally engaged in hunting activity. A violation would be punishable by imprisonment of up to five years or a fine up to $5,000 or both.
Senate Majority Leader Michael J. McCaffrey, D-Warwick, spoke on the bill he sponsored to ban the open carry of shotguns and loaded rifles while praising House and Senate members who, “took the right vote” on the legislation that was signed on Tuesday.
When McKee took the first of several ceremonial pens in hand to sign the legislation into law, he wore a red “Mom’s Demand Action Against Gun Violence” T-shirt. “As governor, I am proud to be signing into law a historic legislative package,” he said. “This crisis has taken too many lives and torn apart too many families.
Rep. Tanzi added, “This fight is not over. It is just one wonderful day in the march to fight gun violence.”
Gun-rights supporters have pledged to challenge the gun-control measures in court if they become law.
In a statement to WPRI-TV CBS 12, Brenda Jacob, president of the Rhode Island Revolver and Rifle Association, said, “The governor is signing several pieces of legislation into law this afternoon which will make law-abiding citizens felons within the next 180 days. The political maneuvering that occurred to get these bills passed and the unprecedented shift away from the committee process should raise alarm bells for all Rhode Islanders. The political leadership of the Senate disregarded the committee vote, whose members spent countless hours listening to testimony and evaluating the legislation presented before the committee.”
The Senate Judiciary Committee did not support the House’s version of the bill banning firearm magazines that hold more than 10 rounds. But the full Senate eventually approved the bill by a 25 to 11 vote after hours of debate.
