In Portsmouth, activists detail progress on gun violence bills

’The onus is on us’ says member of Moms Demand Action

By Jim McGaw
Posted 3/6/18

PORTSMOUTH — “Unless we make the changes ourselves, it’s not going to happen,” Jennifer Smith Boylan told about three dozen people attending a gun violence presentation …

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In Portsmouth, activists detail progress on gun violence bills

’The onus is on us’ says member of Moms Demand Action

Posted

PORTSMOUTH — “Unless we make the changes ourselves, it’s not going to happen,” Jennifer Smith Boylan told about three dozen people attending a gun violence presentation at The Valley Inn restaurant on Saturday.

Ms. Boylan, the volunteer legislative lead of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, was joined by Nan Heroux, secretary of the R.I. Coalition Against Gun Violence, in a presentation that updated residents on the progress being made on legislation focused on gun safety measures. 

“When it comes to gun safety, people in Portsmouth don’t really talk about it much,” said Donna Personeus of R.I. Democratic Women for Leadership, which hosted the meeting.

“I can only assume you’re here because you’ve just had it with what’s going on in our country,” Ms. Boylan said in kicking off her remarks. “Unless we make the changes ourselves, it’s not going to happen.”

The Barrington resident described herself as someone “who just couldn’t get over Sandy Hook,” referring to the mass shooting in which 20 elementary school children and six adults were killed in 2012. “I knew nothing about our country’s gun laws at the time. I was just in my little own world and Sandy Hook changed everything for me,” she said.

That changed when she heard Moms Demand Action founder Shannon Watts speak at the March on Washington for Gun Control in 2013. Ms. Boylan then joined the grassroots organization, which has chapters in every state. It’s since merged with Mayors Against Illegal Guns and has added the new Students Demand Action to give younger citizens a voice in the debate.

Through numerous educational campaigns (such as Be SMART — http://besmartforkids.org), social media saturation and testimony at legislative hearings, the organization advocates for stronger laws and policies curbing gun violence, she said.

Moms Demand Action is a nonpartisan group, Ms. Boylan noted. “We respect the Second Amendment, but we believe with rights come responsibilities. We’re not trying to take away anyone’s guns,” she said.

Moms Demand Action, as well as the R.I. Coalition Against Gun Violence, both oppose current state law that allows anyone with a Concealed Carry Permit to bring his or her firearm into a Rhode Island public school without the knowledge of police or school officials. They support the Safe Schools Act — House Bill 7591 and Senate Bill 2289 — which would have Rhode Island join the other 46 states that generally prohibit the carrying of concealed handguns in schools.

“Anyone with a permit to carry a concealed weapon has a right to walk onto school property, which is very strange since here in Rhode Island we have schools designated as gun-free zones,” added Ms. Personeus, who said gun owners can apply for the permits from local police or the attorney general’s office.

While Gov. Gina Raimondo recently signed an executive order to establish a statewide “red flag” policy aimed at keeping guns away from people who pose a danger to themselves and others, “Red Flag” legislation is still being considered by both the House and Senate.

“For many people, prior to shooting themselves or others, red flags go up that alert people who are near them that there is potential for violence,” said Ms. Boylan, adding that the legislation would give immediate family members or law enforcement the ability to petition a judge to remove guns from someone who’s making threats of violence.

The bill also has the potential to help curb suicides, she said. “Every three days in Rhode Island there’s a suicide. That’s an astounding statistic. You just don’t know about them,” Ms. Boylan said.

Defeat bad bills

Moms Demand Action also works to defeat what it considers to be bad legislation. In the past, the gun lobby rarely faced any opposition to legislation it sponsored, she said.

“Those days are over,” Ms. Boylan said, adding that volunteer activists are now “showing up in droves” to oppose what they believe is bad gun legislation.

One such bill is Concealed Carry Reciprocity that’s being proposed in Congress, she said. The bill would allow anyone with the authority to carry a concealed weapon in their state to do the same in other states, she said.

The organization also opposes any legislation that allows gun silencers to be legal. The premise for these bills, Ms. Boylan said, is to protect gun owners’ hearing. “However, they can just wear some hearing protection and deal with it,” she said, noting that silencers only make it easier for illegal shootings to be committed.

Besides taking a stand on gun violence legislation, the group also works to educate voters on the issues and urges them to vote for “gun-sense legislators” who support safe gun policies and initiatives “We want you all to be gun-sense voters. Know who you’re supporting,” she said.

The organization has another campaign called Throw Them Out, an action plan to kick out lawmakers who are beholden to the gun lobby. Ms. Boylan said while Rhode Island’s federal delegation accepts no funds from the National Rifle Association (NRA), several state lawmakers do.

In addition, the group recently initiated an online poll of candidates to be considered for the Moms Demand Action Gun Sense Candidate distinction. “If they don’t get it, you can probably look them up on the NRA’s website and see what rating they get,” she said.

Assault weapons ban

Like Ms. Boylan, Ms. Heroux joined Moms Demand Action shortly after the Sandy Hook massacre. She later joined the R.I. Coalition Against Gun Violence as a Moms Demand Action liaison.

One of the biggest priorities for the Coalition is a legislative ban on assault weapons; House Bill 7763 and Senate Bill 2493 would prohibit the sale, transfer, manufacture and importation of military-style weapons and high-capacity magazines.

“The assault weapons ban is going to be an uphill fight,” Ms. Heroux acknowledged.

She urged residents to study the issue of gun violence and voice their opinions to lawmakers. She noted that the Coalition has training sessions for people who aren’t used to testifying during legislation hearings, with the next one scheduled from 6-8 p.m. on Monday, March 12, at Rochambeau Library in Providence.

Saturday’s presentation was attended by several local officials and state lawmakers including Sen. Jim Seveney of Portsmouth (D-District 11), Rep. Aaron Regunberg of Providence (D-Dist. 4), Portsmouth School Committee Chairwoman Terri Cortvriend and Portsmouth Town Council members J. Mark Ryan and Linda Ujifusa.

gun control, Moms Demand Action, R.I. Coalition Against Gun Violence

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