School Safety

Senate Bill 73 – Senate President Ruggerio and Senators Coyne, Goodwin, Gallo, Pearson, Euer
House Bill 5555 – Reps. Kazarian, Diaz, Ajello, Ranglin-Vassell, Fogarty, Caldwell, Blazejewski, McEntee, Carson, and Cortvriend

43 States DO NOT Allow Concealed Carry on K-12 School Grounds

President of the Senate Dominick Ruggerio, Sponsor
“Citizens carrying firearms in schools increases risk, not safety. There have been dozens of examples of mishandling and accidental discharge of firearms in schools across our nation.”

This act would prohibit the possession of firearms on school grounds except for peace officers, retired law enforcement officers, persons under contract to provide school security services, and unloaded firearms in locked containers or a locked rack in a motor vehicle.

RI Public Safety Officials Support the School Safety Act

The Rhode Island State Police and the Rhode Island Police Chiefs’ Association know that ONLY trained police and peace officers should be armed in schools, due to the extreme risks inherent in hostage and high-stress “shoot/don’t shoot” situations.

Police officers receive this training. Peace officers receive this training (and are retested annually to reaffirm their proficiency).

Concealed carry permit holders do not receive specialized training and are not subject to yearly retesting.

Interjecting guns in a school “would be a recipe for a disaster.”

Col. James Manni
•  
Superintendent, RI State Police
•  Director, RI Dept. of Public Safety

“The shooter in the synogauge in Pittsburgh, were eleven people were murdered, was a concealed carry permit holder.”

Adi Goldstein
•  Deputy Attorney General, RI

“Keeping guns out of schools makes it safer for everyone in those schools.”

Steven Pare
•  Providence Commissioner of Public Safety
•  27-year veteran of the RI State Troopers

“Even police officers, whose job requirements include being a well-trained, accurate shooter, regularly miss and at times misfortunately shoot and injure the wrong person.”

Col. James Mendonca
•  Director of Security and Safety​, Chief of Campus Police, Rhode Island College
•  Executive Board, RI Police Chiefs’ Association
•  Former Central Falls Chief of Police

FBI Active Shooter Studies – 2000 to 2019

In 305 incidents, almost none involved an armed citizen engaging with the shooter.

43%

Apprehended by police

35%

Shooter committed suicide

21%

Killed by police

1%

Killed by armed citizen

1,760 People Killed by CCP Holders

These media reports, tracked from May 2007 to December 2020, include:

35

mass shootings

62

murder-suicides

24

police officers

This is undoubtedly a fraction of the total number of gun incidents involving CCP holders, as there are NO federally mandated laws requiring tracking.  Source: Concealed Carry Killers.

Accidental Firearm Injuries and Deaths in the U.S. 2001-2019

These figures from the Center for Disease Control (CDC) DO NOT INCLUDE suicides or intentional firearm violence.

330,102

Unintentional NON-FATAL Firearm Injuries

Source: Center for Disease Control and Prevention, accessed 02/10/2021

11,379

Unintentional Firearm DEATHS

Source: Center for Disease Control and Prevention, accessed 02/10/2021

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