Rhode Island lawmakers have passed a new bill that mandates the safe storage of firearms, which is now awaiting Governor Daniel McKee’s signature, expected later this week.
The legislation, approved on Thursday, requires that all firearms be stored in a locked container or equipped with a tamper-resistant mechanical lock or similar safety device when not in use by the owner or an authorized user. Proponents of the bill argue that it aims to prevent unauthorized access and accidental discharges, aligning Rhode Island’s laws with those of neighboring Massachusetts and Connecticut. Opponents of the bill cite the fact that it criminalizes otherwise legal citizens and is another example of government overreach into the private lives of citizens.
Senator Pamela Lauria, a sponsor of the bill, defended the legislation by comparing it to other safety regulations meant to protect children, such as car seat laws and insurance mandates for pediatric cancer coverage.
She was then quoted by NECN as she recited an oft-repeated and inaccurate statistic that has become the GREAT LIE of anti-gun politicians who believe if you repeat a lie enough, people will believe it’s true. Or as the Seinfeld character George Costanza once said in a famous scene, “It is not a lie, if you yourself believe it.”
Costanze, er Lauria, was quoted as saying:
“But gun violence, not cancer or car collisions, is the leading cause of death for children, and that’s unacceptable when we have the tools to decrease its occurrence. This is the seat belt law for responsible gun ownership.”
It is the leading cause of death among children if children include the 19-year-old gangbangers killing each other and robbing old ladies.
With all of that said, however, safe gun storage is a responsibility of every gun owner as every injury or death that is the result of either an intentional or unintentional shooting by someone who shouldn’t have been able to access a firearm is indeed tragic. We should all strive to prevent such incidents. But if we are going to pass laws, let’s at least deal in facts, not simply add more icing to the cake in order to potentially criminalize Joe Citizen.
Under the new law, the penalties for non-compliance include a civil fine of up to $250 for the first offense and up to $1,000 for a second offense. Subsequent violations could result in a prison sentence of up to six months and a fine of up to $500.
How are they going to Enforce that law?
No knock search warrants at 04:30.
*BlamBlamBlamBlamBlam* Shute the wife and kids too, we forgot to put tape on the ring camera.
The dog can’t talk but let’s take no chances.
*BLam, Blam, Blam*
Yip Yip Yip. Fck he got away. Oficer McGruff canvas the neighborhood, kill any dog you see.
they will enforce it when a prohibited person or a child accesses an unlocked firearm and commits a crime with it.
And who is to say it was unsecure.
My word against yours
As Allowed…
as allowed.
“when not in use” – if the gun is in my home then is “in use”.
correct; so long as it is carried on your person or is within proximity that can be readily retrieved and used.
Home carry is a thing.
Here is the actual law, which makes clear that home carry and leaving a gun on your nightstand are both still allowed:
A person who stores or leaves a firearm in any place is guilty of the violation of unsafe storage of a firearm unless the firearm is secured in a locked container or equipped with a tamper resistant mechanical lock or other safety device, properly engaged in order to render such firearm inoperable by any person other than the owner or other lawfully authorized user. For purposes of this section, such firearm shall not be deemed stored or left if the firearm is being carried by or is within such proximity to its owner or other lawfully authorized user that the firearm can be readily retrieved and used as if carried on said person.
My home is a tamper-resistant container. So is my car.
ALLOWED.
when does .giv dictate the Allowed bullshit.
Your a Fed or believe you can sue you way out of a robbery
Pretty much the same law is under consideration in California, but with the added kicker of another bill that mandates a safe or lock box as an “authorized” safety device. The extra part kicks in on purchase of a(nother) firearm, when proof of ownership of an approved safety device is required prior to the ffl delivering possession.
RE” “But gun violence, not cancer or car collisions, is the leading cause of death for children, and that’s unacceptable when we have the tools to decrease its occurrence. This is the seat belt law for responsible gun ownership.” Again the concocted buzzwords Gun Violence and its concocted stats gets a pass and receives standing because wimpy so called defenders of the 2A say Nothing otherwise. Violence is Violence no matter what object is criminally misused. Furthermore because Violence is unpredictable and can pop up anywhere a firearm is “in use” 24/7.
Unfortunately trying to get wimps to debunk the Gun Violence label is like calling for the democRat Party to be held monetarily liable for Reparations…crickets. Same slience applies to defining Gun Control by its History while democRats rewrite History to cover their party’s historical atrocities. Same with the wimps who are embarrassed to say: TRUMP 2024.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=7A3zBe1zWRg&feature=shared
Slavery now in the northern states. And freedom in the southern state now. My how the times have changed. Over the past 140 years.
No slavery was always in the northern states, it was called factories.
12 year olds working in the factory.
Very true.
The number of children and teens killed by gunfire in the United States increased 50% between 2019 (1,732) and 2021(2,590).
The total number of gun deaths among children and teens in 2021 includes homicides 60%, suicides 32%, accidents 5% and all other categories 3% where firearms are listed on death certificates as the underlying cause of death.
It does not include deaths where firearms are listed as a contributing, but not underlying, cause of death.
And if you were being honest you would state that the majority of those under 18yo ‘victims’ were involved in gang activity.
When you have to deliberately misrepresent your ‘facts’ you do not have a valid case.
In addition to data on gun fatalities, the CDC publishes estimates on nonfatal gun-related injuries sustained by children and teens.
In 2020 – the most recent year with available data – there were more than 11,000 emergency-room visits for gunshot injuries among children and teens under the age of 18 – far higher than in other recent years.
biden’s in the white house has caused a surge of violence, lawlessness and despair. Cripple the economy and bad things happen.
Biden did take office until 2021. 2020 was Trumps last year in office.
Thank the NSSF for pushing this crap and the Bi-partisan Safer Communities Act.
We are the NSSF and we work hand in hand with the BATFE. They say it all the time.
Pick your poisons.