The Warren Town Council voted unanimously Tuesday night to support legislation that would ban the possession of firearms on school grounds by everyone excluding law enforcement officers, including gun owners with concealed carry permits.
House Bill 5345 and Senate Bill 187 are similar to legislation introduced into the General Assembly last year, which never left committee. Last April, town council members voted 3-2 to support the earlier legislation after more than an hour of lively debate.
This time around, there was considerably less back and forth by the council, as members listened to half a dozen residents on both sides of the issue.
Long-time gun owner Adam Olenn, of 7 Maple Ave., drew applause from the audience, including Warren Police Chief Peter Achilli and Warren Fire Chief Al Galinelli, after he told council members that he strongly supports the legislation.
“I come from a long line of military and recreational shooters,” he said. “I do not take our Second Amendment rights lightly; I exercise mine. With these rights comes a truly awesome responsibility — there is no reason for anyone other than a law enforcement officer to ever have a firearm in school, ever.”
Erin Schofield, a member of the Bristol Warren Regional School Committee, said the legislation is paramount to the safety of schoolchildren. The argument that the legislation is a de facto punishment for concealed carry permit holders doesn’t stand up, she said. Having guns in schools does not make children safer, and her fellow committee members share that same belief, she said.
“We are working very, very hard to create a culture in our school district where our schools are safe places,” she said. “We want our schools to be safe havens for our kids. Part of that is being in a safe environment.”
Not everyone spoke in favor of the resolution. Two Warren residents, Andre Asselin and Ray Palmieri, said the legislation won’t amount to much and will accomplish little.
“Let’s face it, this resolution would pass only because it makes people feel good,” Mr. Palmieri said. “The problem is people (from) broken homes, mental issues. Go ahead and pass the resolution because it’ll make you feel good, and you don’t want people coming to your door with pitchforks and torches. It’s not going to keep the guy who wants to go in there and do harm from doing what he wants to do.”
“What you have here is a solution looking for a problem,” Mr. Asselin added. “There’s never been a problem with a concealed carry permit in a school.”
But others said allowing permit holders to carry weapons on school grounds is asking for trouble. Warren attorney Jerry Belair, of the Rhode Island Coalition Against Gun Violence, said the fact is that law enforcement officers agree that civilians with concealed carry permits won’t make students any safer. But they could make matters worse, he said.
One thing “I hear is the ‘good guy with a gun’ argument,” he said. “I’ve spoken to many, many law enforcement officers. One of the things that they seem to agree almost universally with is that one of the worst things that could happen” is to encounter a concealed carry permit holder during a school crisis, as they are often not properly trained to deal with the stress involved in using a firearm when the adrenaline is pumping.
“Training for a concealed permit is pretty easy,” he said. Law enforcement officers are trained rigorously and often. The other thing (law enforcement officers) say is ‘Look, we’re not going to ask (a concealed carry permit holder), are you a good guy with a gun? We’re going to shoot.’”
“Having an untrained concealed carry permit holder in a heroic situation is almost unheard of.”