PA Bill Number: HB917
Title: Adopting the Uniform Family Law Arbitration Act.
Description: Adopting the Uniform Family Law Arbitration Act. ...
Last Action: Presented to the Governor
Last Action Date: Apr 29, 2024
Valley lawmakers oppose gun executive order :: 01/27/2016
WEST WARWICK — After learning about President Barack Obama’s proposal regarding gun control through a group of executive actions meant to reduce gun violence that included keeping guns out of the wrong hands through background checks, making communities safe from gun violence through existing laws with more resources, increasing mental health treatment and shaping the future of gun technology, local delegates had a few thoughts themselves.
District 9 Senator Adam Satchell (D-West Warwick) supports the expansion of background checks. He doesn’t think he’s alone, either.
“I think a lot of gun owners do,” he said. “The expanded license requirement applies to gun stores, sellers at gun shows, and individuals selling guns over the Internet. I think it protects both the seller and the buyer. The seller knows they are not selling to someone that they shouldn't and the seller can trust that a firearm sold from a licensed dealer is not stolen or been tampered with.
“I also like that the president's order invests $500 million to increase access to mental health care,” Satchell continued. “It will also remove legal barriers preventing states from reporting relevant information about people prohibited from possessing a gun for specific mental health reasons. It also expands state to state and federal information sharing in regard to these reports. The mandates also deal with criminal information sharing as well as the mental health piece.
“I also think that it makes sense that manufacturers have to report any materials stolen during shipping to the ATF,” he added. “I'm hoping that this might help to curb illegal gun sales. That is really the big issue: a lot of opponents of expanded gun control argue that most gun crime is committed by people that obtain firearms illegally. This is generally true — those types of people don't care about violating a law and they will try to get a gun no matter what.
“Overall, I don't see the mandates as too onerous for law abiding gun owners and most people that want to buy a firearm for protection or sport,” he finished. “I also think that the only people that these laws will prevent from getting firearms are the people that shouldn't be owning firearms.”
District 26 Representative Patricia Morgan (R- Coventry, West Warwick, Warwick) said what she finds “troubling” is the fact that Obama is making decisions on his own through the use of executive orders, instead of going through Congress.
“We don’t have monarchs here in the United States, we have branches of government for a reason and the founding fathers were very smart about forming it that way for a reason,” she said.
District 27 Representative Patricia Serpa (D-West Warwick, Coventry, Warwick) echoed Morgan’s critique as she said members of the legislature are the ones who bring issues from the people. An advocate for mental health, she spoke on gun control from that side.
“I don’t agree with executive orders,” she said. “In this state, we have some of the strictest gun laws and we have a huge mental health issue and that’s what we’ve got to address. We have to figure out how to get past some of the HIPPA laws without going too far and find out what diagnosis is available to a seller.”
District 33 Senator Lou Raptakis (D- Coventry, East Greenwich, West Greenwich) also said the president should not circumvent Congress.
“Any laws pertaining to gun control, if they’re gong to be changed, need to be changed legislatively,” Raptakis said. “He’s going out of bounds and it doesn’t work that way. He’s out of his jurisdiction.”
“This is obviously something I will not support,” said District 21 Senator Nick Kettle, (R-Coventry, Scituate, West Warwick). ‘A vast majority of gun owners are responsible and I think we’re dealing with more of a mental health issue. The president has overstepped his bounds and it’s an issue for Congress to approve, not the wave of a pen.”
District 28 Representative Robert Nardolillo, (R-Coventry) believes that anything done by the president through an executive order is not fair.
“It’s not fair that one person make the decision when it affects many,” he said. “I support the right to bear arms and this is a huge overstep of his position. When you unarm a country, you’re hurting it. Those who want to do harm will find these weapons. What he should be doing is taking more a stance on homelessness and helping veterans, not taking steps such as these with such a controversial issue.”
District 40 Representative Mike Chippendale (R-Coventry, Foster, Glocester) is completely opposed to President Obama’s ideas on gun control.
“He shouldn’t be attempting to do Congress’s job,” he said. “Secondly, his proposals are vague and they’re not going to solve any problems. He’s not breaking any ground and the laws that he’s proposing are already on the books so I think we should be enforcing what’s already there. Even when you order them online, they can only be shipped to licensed dealers and I don’t think his thoughts are anything that would’ve stopped Sandy Hook or the San Bernardino tragedies.”
Chippendale believes Obama has a “predisposition” against the Second Amendment.
“Here we were, dealing with this tragedy at San Bernardino and he was using it as an opportunity to sell gun control,” said the Representative. “Using it to further his own agenda.”
Chippendale knows local police departments are in a constant fight to keep guns off the streets. He highlighted a study done for Providence — the last full year was 2013 — where the amount of homicides through the court system were followed, with the finding that the majority were pleaded down or dismissed.
“The court system is not following through and I ask that they provide us with more information before they go and create more laws,” Chippendale said. “We need to send the message that if you’re going to illegally possess a firearm, you’re going to do serious jail time and pay the price for bad decisions.”
District 25 Representative Jared Nunes (D-Coventry, West Warwick) called the executive order from Obama “absolute nonsense.”
“If the President wants gun control, he needs to go through proper channels and he’s not being very democratic,” Nunes said. “No one should be in favor of how he’s implementing this, regardless of where they stand on this. I disagree with both the content and the manner of the executive order.”
District 29 Representative Sherry Roberts (R-Coventry, West Greenwich) said she is in favor of doing whatever it takes to keep guns out of the wrong hands.
“I’m completely against Obama’s thinking,” she said. “He’s going about things the wrong way and it shouldn’t be solely his decision.”
