State & Local Government Policy, Business and Technology

RI: In Rhode Island, momentum builds for gun-control legislation

Providence Journal: PROVIDENCE, R.I. — In the weeks since the massacre of 17 people at a Florida high school, the Smith Hill gun debate has literally swept every other issue aside.

“What’s it going to take?” asked the governor, gun-control advocate Gina Raimondo. “We have a moment now to stand up and do the right thing to save lives.”

Even NRA-endorsed lawmakers agree that some action is warranted, House Speaker Nicholas Mattiello among them. The question: how much?

As of Friday, 40 gun bills had been introduced in the House and Senate, the vast majority by gun-control advocates. Hearings on many of them are scheduled for Tuesday. Especially fast action is anticipated on “red flag” legislation backed by both Mattiello and Senate President Dominick Ruggerio to give judges power to remove guns, at least temporarily, from people who have demonstrated they are an “extreme risk″ to themselves and others.

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