Editorial: Pass new gun laws now

Posted 6/2/22

Rhode Island has enacted a handful of smart gun laws in the past decade, but it is not enough. At least five common-sense gun regulation bills sit stagnant in the Rhode Island General Assembly, where …

This item is available in full to subscribers.

Please log in to continue

Log in

Register to post events


If you'd like to post an event to our calendar, you can create a free account by clicking here.

Note that free accounts do not have access to our subscriber-only content.

Day pass subscribers

Are you a day pass subscriber who needs to log in? Click here to continue.


Editorial: Pass new gun laws now

Posted

Rhode Island has enacted a handful of smart gun laws in the past decade, but it is not enough. At least five common-sense gun regulation bills sit stagnant in the Rhode Island General Assembly, where they have been locked in committee for years.

These bills would ban military-style rifles and high-capacity magazines, mandate safe storage of weapons in the home, make it illegal to carry loaded rifles in public, and raise the minimum age for purchasing long guns to 21.

Opponents often retaliate against gun control measures, relying on the slippery-slope argument that any restrictions on guns will lead to more restrictions, until the proverbial “they” eventually “come for our guns!”

It’s an absurd argument, removed from reality. The government in this country is not going to take away all the guns, and it’s long past time to ditch that hyperbole.

What the government should do is recognize the differences between guns for hunting, guns for defending one’s home and person, guns for killing people, and guns for killing lots of people. Regardless of how they are defined in a legal sense, anyone applying common sense knows the difference between guns designed for defense and guns designed for killing.

Get rid of the guns designed for killing. There is no argument to justify their sales and ownership in this country, and every time a teenager uses these weapons to execute innocent souls, the tears and moments of silence are painfully insignificant.

2024 by East Bay Media Group

Barrington · Bristol · East Providence · Little Compton · Portsmouth · Tiverton · Warren · Westport
Meet our staff
MIKE REGO

Mike Rego has worked at East Bay Newspapers since 2001, helping the company launch The Westport Shorelines. He soon after became a Sports Editor, spending the next 10-plus years in that role before taking over as editor of The East Providence Post in February of 2012. To contact Mike about The Post or to submit information, suggest story ideas or photo opportunities, etc. in East Providence, email mrego@eastbaymediagroup.com.