Every Wednesday from 3 to 5pm

RICAGV will host a lobby day for gun safety reform each week throughout the 2019 legislative session (January to June).

Training for supporters includes all the basics, including:

• Where to find your local representative and senator in the House and Senate chambers
• In-depth introduction to RICAGV-backed bills
• Fact sheets to aid in conversation with lawmakers

We will meet in the State House Rotunda at 3pm; lobbying will begin around 4pm and we will wrap-up by 5pm. Check our event calendar for the occasional happy hour at a local restaurant or pub 🙂

Plenty of Parking

Parking is FREE at the Providence Place Mall garage (about a 5-minute walk) for the first two hours; $2 for two to five hours.

Street parking is also available on the streets immediately surrounding the State House for $2.50; quarters or debit/credit cards are accepted. 

Senate and House Seating Charts

Let’s Level the Playing Field

If our local lawmakers are doing their job properly, they face an uphill battle to understand data and research, as well as weigh the risks and unintended consequences for hundreds of bills in 2019.

Special interests are well aware of this fact and employee professionals to lobby for their interests, which usually means many legislators are left with a very one-sided point of view.

The Good News

Fortunately for gun safety reform advocates, the tide is turning. The false narrative of the corporate gun lobby cannot withstand the intense scrutiny created by the sickening number of mass shooting incidents and the corresponding rise in deaths and casualties over the past decade.

The national failure to implement widely-popular, evidence-backed gun violence prevention measures has turned many Americans toward their local legislatures for the common-sense reforms that will create the layers of safety that can protect us from the danger of mass shootings. 

A Safety Net

One of the best ways to counter the gun right’s “there is no way to stop it”  argument is the idea that there is no ONE way to stop it; we need a network of policies and laws to effectively decrease the risks of gun violence.

RICAGV is advocating for three pieces of gun safety reform legislation that will work with our recent achievements (domestic violence, red flag, and bump stock ban bills) to help keep Rhode Island one of the safest states in the nation:

The Safe Schools Act of 2019 – barring possession of firearms within 300 feet of school grounds; exceptions are made for peace officers, retired law enforcement officers, persons providing school security, firearms on private property and unloaded firearms in containers or locked car racks.

The Rhode Island Large Capacity Feeding Device Ban Act of 2019 – regulating the sale and possession of devices capable of holding more than 10 rounds of ammunition.

The Rhode Island Assault Weapons Ban Act of 2019 – barring the sale and possession of military-style assault weapons with more than 10 round capacity; exceptions apply for law enforcement and military personnel.

Policy makers in Rhode Island support these research-backed measures as the most effective ways to curb the dramatic upward trend in mass shootings:

• Governor Gina Raimondo
• Attorney General Peter Neronha
• R.I. State Police
• R.I. Police Chiefs Association
• Federation of Teacher and Healthcare Professional (RIFTHP)
• R.I. Association of School Principals
• R.I. Association of School Committees
• R.I. Federation of Teachers and Health Professionals
• 24 School Committees and 11 Municipal Councils Across R.I. 

Letting Your Legislators Know

If your local representative or senator is not co-sponsoring the package of bills above, we implore you to carve a few hours out of your busy schedule to help us get these common-sense measures to the floor for a vote in both the House and Senate.

The overwhelming majority of Rhode Islanders support these measures; with the eye-opening data that is at our disposal, you can help your representative and senator understand that there is no policy that will work on its own; we need this package of bills that will work together to help keep our schools and communities safe.