ANALYSIS: Gun Lobby Was Facing a Disaster in RI, Learn How They Killed the Assault Rifle Ban
GoLocalProv News Team
ANALYSIS: Gun Lobby Was Facing a Disaster in RI, Learn How They Killed the Assault Rifle Ban
In the first post-COVID session of the General Assembly, the gun lobby would be without its most powerful supporter -- former Speaker of the House Nick Mattiello. The “A” rated NRA powerbroker had protected gun rights for years.
But, in 2020, Mattiello was beaten badly in his reelection bid by Republican Barbara Ann Fenton-Fung.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST2022 looked like it could be a disaster for gun rights supporters.
With it being an election year and a growing number of legislators facing credible progressive challengers in the Democratic primary just three months away, there was a real danger of a tsunami of gun safety bills passing in the Rhode Island General Assembly.
GoLocal has spoken to more than a dozen legislators, activists, leaders in law enforcement, and lobbyists with direct knowledge of how a ban on assault rifles was blocked by the most powerful Democratic leaders in the Rhode Island general assembly.
The following is a step-by-step timeline of how the assault rifle ban legislation was killed and the players behind it.
One of the Bluest States
Every member of the state's Congressional delegation, all five general officers, and both state house chambers are held by Democrats. The state is ranked as the seventh most Democratic state in the country.
Stars were aligning for the legislature to take action.
Assault rifles have been the weapon of choice for mass killers.
The following is a partial list of when an AR-15-style weapon was used in a mass shooting:
- Feb. 14, 2018: Shooting at Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Florida leaves 17 people dead.
- Oct. 1, 2017: The Las Vegas slaughter of 58 people.
- Nov. 5, 2017: The Sutherland Springs, Texas, church shooting that claimed 26 lives.
- June 12, 2016: The Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando, Florida, left 49 dead.
- Dec 2, 2015: The San Bernardino, California shooting that killed 14 people.
- Dec. 14, 2012: The shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut killed 27 children and school staff.
19 4th Graders Slaughtered
Then in 2022 came a series of mass shootings — in a grocery store in Buffalo, NY, and in the elementary school in Uvalde, Texas.
Both the mass killings reset the national and state-by-debate.
An elderly church woman was gunned down in the aisle after visiting her husband in a nursing home.
Children were so badly damaged that in some cases they could only be identified by the sneakers on their feet because the exiting bullet wounds had destroyed their faces and made them unrecognizable.
TIMELINE
MAY 14, SATURDAY, 10 Killed in Buffalo
A mass shooting occurred in Buffalo, New York, United States, at a Tops Friendly Markets store, a supermarket in the East Side neighborhood. Ten Black people were killed and three other people were injured in a racist hate crime.
MAY 24, TUESDAY, 21 Killed in Uvalde
Uvalde Mass Shooting takes place. 19 children and two teachers are killed. 19 heavily armed police officers wait outside of the classroom for an hour.
Democratic gubernatorial candidates Helena Foulkes and Governor Dan McKee call on Speaker Joe Shekarchi and Senate President Dominick Ruggerio to immediately take action in the wake of the shooting in Texas.
Foulkes said in a statement, “Governor McKee says he supports gun safety legislation—it’s time for him to prove it. He should bring together legislative leaders today and demand action on gun reform. There is no excuse for the fact that Rhode Island has still not banned assault weapons and high capacity magazines. Getting this done requires real leadership, not lip service.”
Foulkes says she personally has called Shekarchi and Ruggerio.
Ruggerio and Shekarchi began to scramble.
Neither Shekarchi nor Ruggerio’s offices would respond to questions if their respective member would push for both banning assault weapons and high-capacity magazines in this session of the General Assembly.
That evening, President Joe Biden called for a ban on assault rifles.
Shekarchi and Ruggerio are worried that they will not be able to put together enough votes for the passage of the budget if they alienate “progressives” who are demanding passage of an assault rifle ban and other gun safety bills.
There is also growing pressure by conservative Democrats to block an assault rifle ban.
MAY 27, FRIDAY to MAY 31, TUESDAY Top Democrats in the Senate Demand Ruggerio Block Assault Rifle Ban
Conservative Democrats — and close allies to Ruggerio — Senators Senator Frank Ciccone, Frank Lombardi, and Frank Lombardo are adamant that they want the Senate to block the assault rifle ban, according to multiple members of the Senate.
Ciccone and Ruggerio are the closest allies - ties via their labor backgrounds and personal loyalty.
Barrington police say state Sen. Frank Ciccone tried to call law enforcement officials to intervene when Senate Majority Leader Dominick Ruggerio was stopped on suspicion of drunken driving.
According to a police report released Friday, Ciccone warned the officer that Ruggerio might retaliate against the police.
The report says Ciccone told a Barrington police officer that, "You think you got pension problems now, wait until this (expletive) is all done. This guy voted against you last time. It ain't going to get any better now."
Ciccone, a Democrat who represents North Providence and Providence, was driving behind Ruggerio when the senate majority leader was stopped early Wednesday morning.
Then, former Colonel of the Rhode Island State Police Brendan Doherty — then a GOP candidate for Congress in the first congressional district against David Cicilline, announced he was returning a $1,000 donation from Ciccone.
“I am confident that the Barrington Police acted with respect and courtesy in this situation, but it has become evident that Senator Ciccone showed very poor judgment and failed to treat the police officers in the same manner. With the benefit of additional information released today by the Barrington Police and upon careful reflection on the matter, I am extremely disappointed in the actions of Senator Ciccone and I have directed my Campaign to return his contributions," Doherty told GoLocal.
Ciccone is an arch-conservative who in 2013 introduced an anti-gay marriage bill defining marriage as a “lawful union between one man and one woman, provided the recognition and definition of marriage shall not prohibit the recognition of a lawful civil union between two (2) members of the same gender.”
At a press conference at the State House, dozens of speakers including Governor Dan McKee along with legislators and activists called for the passage of five gun safety legislation -- highlighted by the ban on assault rifles.
“I’m glad to be joined by so many as a long-term sponsor of the assault weapon ban. I'm glad to be up here and I'm optimistic to hear the commitment to passage but as somebody who has been involved in legislation for over 15 years now, there are things we must be vigilant about when we consider these bills and see them brought to passage,” said Miller.
“They must be as effective as intended,” he added.
But later in the day, the Senate leadership told Speaker Shekarchi's office that they would not support a ban on assault rifles. By the end of the day, only three bills would go forward and the assault rifle ban would be blocked.
JUNE 6, MONDAY, Assault Rifle Ban Dead
Word was leaking out. House and Senate leadership would move forward with the three bills and would block the assault rifle ban.
GoLocal emails to McKee's office and Foulke's campaign about the legislature's refusal to move forward with an assault rifle ban -- despite their just days-earlier insistence it pass -- went unanswered.
Despite their advocating for a ban, both Foulkes and McKee went silent.
Both Shekarchi's and Ruggerio's offices confirm to GoLocal that they are not supporting the passage of the assault rifle ban.
JUNE 9, THURSDAY, House Judiciary Votes on 3 Bills, But Assault Rifle is Not Included
Hundreds of Second Amendment advocates protest at the State House in opposition to the three gun bills.
The bills posted for House Judiciary Committee on Thursday were:
- A ban on high-capacity magazines containing more than 10 rounds of ammunition.
- Raise the age from 18 to 21 for lawful sale of firearms or ammunition.
- And, a bill that would restrict carrying a shotgun or rifle in public.
"The Speaker supports the three bills that are posted for consideration by the House Judiciary Committee on Thursday," said his office in a statement.
Shekarchi’s office refused to respond to questions about why the assault rifle ban is being blocked.
And, Ruggerio’s office said in an email, “The Senate President supports the bills that are posted, which includes a magazine capacity cap.”
Both top officials refused to answer questions about blocking the assault rifle ban.
JUNE 10, FRIDAY, House Passes Three Bills
The three bills are scheduled for a hearing on Tuesday, June 14, 2022 in the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Sydney Montstream-Quas, RICAGV Board Chair told GoLocal in an email that the coalition has not given up on an assault weapons ban -- even after a decade of failure.
"We have not given up. We support the passage of the package of 5 gun bills, which our 36 Campaign for Gun Violence Prevention RI partners also support. We have been pushing for an assault weapons ban (now an assault weapons regulation) since 2013; that has not changed," said Montstream-Quas.
Senators Lombardi, Lombardo, and Ciccone did not respond to requests for comment.