Tuesday, March 6, 2018

2 pm to 8 pm

Rhode Island State House
Room 313
82 Smith Street
Providence, RI 02904

Please Come to Show Support and/or to Testify!

The Senate Judiciary and House Committee on Judiciary will be hearing testimony on many gun related bills. 

The hearing will being at the Rise of the House and Senate at 4:30 PM, but we are asking supporters to arrive as early as 2PM to sign up to testify. 

For those planning on attending, PLEASE WEAR ORANGE. If you do not feel comfortable testifying, we would still love you to come and show support.

1. If you can get to the hearing room early, you can sign in with the clerk in Room 101 (or if you know which bill you want to testify on, you can send me an e-mail, and I’ll sign you in early.)

2. Remember you will most likely be limited to two minutes, so you’ll want to practice a version of your testimony that has your main points up front. (And please remember to mention that you are a member of RICAGV and/or that your organization is a coalition member).

3. If you arrive at 4:00 or later, you can usually park in the DOH lot across the street — otherwise bring lots of quarters for street parking. Hearings usually start by around 5:00, but citizens are not called immediately to testify, as “experts” present first. Tomorrow is likely to run late, so bring water and snacks!

4. Even if you can’t stay for the whole evening, be sure to sign in to testify and list which bills you are supporting – this still counts. You can only

5. Look for friendly faces! I’ll have a clipboard with the RICAGV logo and would be very glad to meet you! Text my cell at 401-580-4331 if you cannot to find us. (Won’t be able to answer calls in the hearing room). Hopefully you will be able to get a seat in the hearing room so it is not full of our opposition. If you don’t get in, there is an overflow room with a TV to watch the hearing, but it can be difficult to hear in those rooms, and you’ll have to listen for your name.

6. If you are handing in testimony, bring 23 copies to submit for House Judiciary. Don’t forget to bring a copy for yourself to present — although, if possible, you should think about using an index card with bullet points. If you need a copy to refer to, you might consider printing a version double-spaced with a larger font so you can glance at it while presenting — it’s always best to look up as much as possible when speaking to the committee.

7. If you cannot attend but would like to send written testimony please send a document with your comments to kat@ricagv.org