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6-19-2017 ALERT!! On Wednesday June 21sth, 2017, H5510 will be heard! Last month the House Judiciary had a hearing on the bill and recommended the bill to be held for further study. This typically means a bill is dead, but it has now come back from the dead and the House Judiciary will "consider" the bill. This means there will be no input from the public and the only way you can influence the committee is to contact them directly via email or phone and it is critical you do this to stop the bill before it gets a floor vote!

First Name*
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Subject*	Please OPPOSE H5510!
Comments* (feel free to personalize the letter)	Members of the House Judiciary committee and Speaker of the House, Please do not support H5510, a bill that would deny due process in alleged domestic violence situations. This bill would eliminate the court's discretion and require the confiscation of firearms when issuing a protective order even if no firearm or force were involved. This bill also needs additional language to prevent it from being overly harsh or misapplied. For example, under this bill a person can be ordered to turn in his or her firearms for nonviolent offenses, such as cyber stalking or harassment. The bill requires firearms to be surrendered to either an FFL dealer or law enforcement, which are to set their own storage and return procedures. This can lead to damaged firearms which can be expensive and exceedingly high storage fees. Supporters of the bill claim that the court orders firearms to be turned in only five percent of the time a protective order is issued. But they fail to mention in how many of those cases the offender could not legally own a firearm in the first place. It would be far better to keep the current approach, which gives the court the discretion, case by case, to determine if a firearm should be surrendered. H5510 is poorly written and could harm innocent Rhode Islanders by confiscating their property without sufficient cause and without due process. Please do NOT support it.

On Tuesday April 25th, 2017, there will be a hearing at the House Judiciary on the following bills! It is crucial that you attend this hearing.

Please contact the members of the House Judiciary committee about these bills. Personal letters are most effective, but the form letters below are also good so please feel free to use them. The letters (one for Pro bills and one for Con bills) will be sent to the House Judiciary committee as well as the Speaker of the House. The bills will be heard at the House Lounge at the State House. There is no set time, but it typically starts some time after 1630. If you can be there by 1530 that's great since you most likely will get out of there early. However, do not worry if you can not make by then since the hearing will most like go on until midnight (bring some snack and water) and it is better to show up late than never! If you can not testify, please attend anyway and fill in the signup sheet stating your position on the bills (there are check boxes indicating whether you wish to testify or not). There will be a large number of people who will testify so there will be an overflow room with TVs where you can watch it. There is free parking (after 4pm) across the street from the State House next to the other State office (Department of Health). Click here for information on how to testify. If you are handing in your testimony, please make 23 copies for all the committee members.

These bills are Pro gun bills.

First Name*
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Your Email*
Phone#
Subject*	Please SUPPORT H5156, H5546, H6039, and H6040!
Comments* (feel free to personalize the letter)	Members of the House Judiciary committee and Speaker of the House, Please support the following bills: H5156: Please support H5156 which will make it legal for concealed carry permit holders to carry a stun gun. Stun guns are often a safe and non-lethal alternative to handguns, and some people who would benefit from being able to carry one while performing activities such as exercise and work. This would also give someone who may not feel comfortable carrying a gun the option to carry a stun gun instead. H5546: Please support H5546 which will direct the RI Attorney General's office to report gun-related statistics to the RI General Assembly yearly. This provides important data on gun crime in our state and holds our judicial system accountable as many gun-related crimes result in plea bargains for lessened sentences or penalties. We could all benefit from more statistics and accountability when it comes to crime, which is why this is a good bill. Please support H5546, as it is common-sense legislation. H6039: Please support H6039 which will mandate background checks and revamp our current concealed carry permit licensing process to be more concise for both the licensing authority and the licensee as well as giving applicants due process. This bill will codify existing case law into General Law so there will no longer be confusion for the licensing authorities that have previously imposed unprecedented requirements and waiting periods and often resulted in wrongful denials. The bill will also create a process for appealing denials where the court will have to review a denial unlike today where the court can reject a petition for an appeal and leave the applicant without due process. The bill will also fix a loophole in which an illegal immigrant could be licensed to carry a firearm. H6040: Please support H6040 which will give our Attorney General the authority to create reciprocity agreements with other States' concealed weapons permit laws so that other states may recognize our concealed carry permit. This is good for RI licensees who often travel for business or pleasure as it may give them the peace of mind knowing that the state they travel to will recognize their permit. Permit holders from other States are required to follow all Rhode Island laws while visiting Rhode Island. Driver's licenses are recognized in all 50 States so there should be a process to do the same for CCW permits.

These bills are Anti gun bills.

First Name*
Last Name*
Street*
City*
Your Email*
Phone#
Subject*	Please OPPOSE H5155, H5262, H5263, H5345, H5437, H5547, H5730, and H5866!
Comments* (feel free to personalize the letter)	Members of the House Judiciary committee and Speaker of the House, Please OPPOSE the following bills: H5155: Please oppose H5155 which will limit magazine capacity to 10 rounds. Criminals will pay no attention to it, thereby putting law-abiding citizens who follow the law at a disadvantage in a confrontation. Our most vulnerable citizens (elderly and disabled) who may have difficulty reloading a magazine will be at a severe disadvantage if he/she needs to reload during a life threatening situation. Comparing magazine limits for hunting with self-defense situations is nonsense since game animals are not armed. Magazines of more than 10 rounds are not "large capacity" and most firearms come standard from the manufacturer with magazines that holds more than 10 rounds. Other states, including CT and NY, tried magazine limits with disastrous results. The great majority of their citizens have refused to comply, therefore accomplished nothing but creating thousands of felons. This bill is also unconstitutional since there is no provision for financial compensation for confiscated magazines that are legally owned today. H5262: Please oppose this bill which will severely restrict where rifles and shotguns can be carried. It would even make it more restrictive than for pistols and revolvers if you have a CCW permit (these permits does not apply to rifles and shotguns). There is NO provision to go to a friend's property to shoot or to go to the airport for someone who might be flying out of state on a hunting trip or shooting competition. There is a MANDATORY sentence of at least 1 year for a violation. There is also mandatory sentence of 15 years under certain circumstances such as a when a person sells a firearm legally, but the buyer lies on the form (Federal Offense) and since there is a mandatory sentence the seller will also get 15 years! H5263/H5547: Please oppose this bill which will severely restrict where and when minors can possess a firearm. This will only affect activity involving long guns because the law already prohibits the carrying of handguns without a permit (11-47-8). The supporters of this bill claims it is necessary because they cannot prosecute minors under existing law, but the fact is it is typically handguns that are used in crimes so why are minors not prosecuted under 11-47-8 instead of 11-47-33? By deleting the words "and use", the statute makes a criminal out of any minor who simply possesses a firearm, including a "BB" gun. There are some exemptions in the bill, such as firearm's permits to minors. However, none of the Chiefs that were contacted just 3-4 ago said they a policy in place and we also know too well all the issues there are with issuing Shall Issue permits under 11-47-11. H5345: Please oppose H5345 which will severely restrict parents with a CCW permit to protect their children in K-12 schools while picking them up or to attend any school sponsored event. Nearly every mass shooting in the last 50 years have been in gun free zones and should be enough evidence that they do NOT work and mass shooters have admitted they chose gun free zones because they anticipated they would kill more victims before being confronted by an armed individual. RI has one of the strictest processes out of all states to becoming licensed to carry, and there are currently only about 3,500 RI concealed carry permit holders, which accounts for only 0.33% of RI's population. Criminalizing these law-abiding permit holders, potentially including K-12 school faculty and family members of students, would be irresponsible. There have been no documented cases of a concealed carry permit holders committing a school shooting, but CCW permit holders have stopped/prevented shootings. By prohibiting CCW permit holders from possessing a firearm on school property they could become an easy target for a stalked since they will be unarmed on a predictable time and place. Although the RI State House is a gun free zone, the RI State Police are armed at all times and are there to protect the public. K-12 schools does not offer this kind of protection. H5730: Please oppose H5730 which assigns an unnecessary financial burden on a concealed carry permit applicant to pay their licensing authority to process a national background check, and instead support H6039 which codifies existing case law to make our concealed carry permitting process better for both the licensing authorities and the licensees H5866: Please oppose H5866 which will require a mandatory minimum sentence of two years for altering identification marks of a firearm. There might be special circumstances where a crime was not intended and does not give the court any discretion when it comes to sentencing. For example, it wasn't until the Gun Control Act of 1968 serial numbers were required to be used on firearms and there are firearms that does not have a serial number that could be interpreted by the court that the marks have been removed.

House Bill No. 5067 House Bill No. 5067 BY Amore, Regunberg, Blazejewski, Kazarian, Ajello ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO CRIMINAL OFFENSES -- WEAPONS (Prohibits persons convicted of certain offenses involving domestic violence from owning or possessing firearms.)

House Bill No. 5081 House Bill No. 5081 BY Corvese, Phillips, Coughlin, Azzinaro ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO FISH AND WILDLIFE - BIRDS (Legalizes the taking or killing of wild migratory birds by crossbow.)

House Bill No. 5115 BY Ajello, Regunberg, Knight, Blazejewski, Craven ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO CRIMINAL OFFENSES -- GENERAL PROVISIONS (Clarifies what constitutes a felony, misdemeanor, and petty misdemeanor and also amends the penalties for certain criminal offenses involving assault and larceny, based on the value of property stolen.)

House Bill No. 5154 BY Vella-Wilkinson, Casey, Johnston, Lima, Cunha ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO CRIMINALS - CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTIONS (Provides that no person convicted of a crime in which a fire arm was used to commit the offense shall be eligible for parole.)

House Bill No. 5155 BY Regunberg, Kazarian, Donovan, Ranglin-Vassell, Knight ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO CRIMINAL OFFENSES - WEAPONS (Criminalizes the manufacture, import, possession, purchase, sale or transfer of any ammunition feeding device capable of accepting more than ten (10) rounds.)

House Bill No. 5156 BY Lima, Fellela, Marshall, Roberts ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO CRIMINAL OFFENSES - WEAPONS - STUN-GUNS (Permits the possession of a stun-gun under the same license conditions which apply to possession of a pistol.)

House Bill No. 5248 BY Fellela, Lima, Costantino, Corvese, Serpa ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO TAXATION - SALES AND USE TAXES - LIABILITY AND COMPUTATION (Exempts containers and storage devices designed for safe storage of guns from sale and use tax.)

House Bill No. 5262 (Attorney General) BY Diaz, Slater, Williams, Maldonado ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO CRIMINAL OFFENSES - WEAPONS (Makes it unlawful to carry a rifle or shotgun in a vehicle, except under limited circumstances and enhances the penalty to anyone who transfers a firearm as a minor which is then used in a crime of violence.)

House Bill No. 5263 (Attorney General) BY Diaz, Slater, Williams, Maldonado ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO CRIMINAL OFFENSES - WEAPONS (Amends the statute for possession of firearms by minors.)

House Bill No. 5345 BY Kazarian, Ajello, Blazejewski, Tanzi, Hull ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO CRIMINAL OFFENSES - WEAPONS (Provides that only peace officers and persons approved by the school authorities for the purposes of educational instruction may carry firearms or other weapons on school grounds.)

House Bill No. 5437 (Attorney General) BY Maldonado, Coughlin, Kazarian, Cunha, Barros ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO CRIMINAL OFFENSES -- WEAPONS (Defines imitation firearm and makes it unlawful to change or remove certain markings required to be on an imitation firearm.)

House Bill No. 5510 BY Tanzi, Amore, Fogarty, Ruggiero, Maldonado ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO COURTS AND CIVIL PROCEDURE--COURTS -- DOMESTIC ASSAULT - PROTECT RHODE ISLAND FAMILIES ACT (Limits access to firearms when an individual is under certain types of domestic restraining orders or protective orders issued or renewed on or after July 1, 2017.)

House Bill No. 5546 BY Casey, Filippi, Lima, Craven, Keable ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO STATE AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT - DEPARTMENT OF ATTORNEY GENERAL - GUN CRIMES REPORT (Directs the attorney general to report annually to the general assembly on the incidence and disposition of crimes involving guns.)

House Bill No. 5547 BY Williams, Diaz, Perez, Handy ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO CRIMINAL OFFENSES -- POSSESSION OF FIREARMS BY MINORS (Requires all minors in possession of a firearm, with or without a permit, be in the presence of a parent or guardian or supervising adult at all times.)

House Bill No. 5554 (Attorney General) BY Johnston ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO CRIMINAL OFFENSES -WEAPONS (Provides that no person shall knowingly purchase or otherwise obtain a firearm on behalf of or transfer to a person who the transferor knows or reasonably should know is prohibited from possessing or receiving a firearm under federal or state law.)

House Bill No. 5608 (Dept. of Environmental Management) BY Bennett, Kazarian, Hull, Lombardi, Amore ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO FISH AND WILDLIFE - HUNTING AND HUNTING SAFETY (Requires any person who sustains an injury to themselves or causes an injury to another while hunting or trapping to report the injury to the department of environmental management immediately.)

House Bill No. 5729 BY Perez ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO CRIMINAL OFFENSES - WEAPONS (Allows those persons with concealed carry permits issued by other states to carry upon their person weapons in Rhode Island provided that the issuing state recognizes and gives reciprocity to RI permit holders.)

House Bill No. 5730 (Attorney General) BY Slater, Hearn, Kazarian, Diaz ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO CRIMINAL OFFENSES - WEAPONS (Requires applicants for a license or carry permit for firearms to undergo a national BCI.)

House Bill No. 5866 BY McKiernan, Perez, O'Brien, Almeida, Williams ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO CRIMINAL OFFENSES-WEAPONS (Makes alteration of firearm identification marks punishable by not less than two (2) years imprisonment and by no more than five (5) years imprisonment.)

House Bill No. 6039 BY Edwards, Chippendale, Canario, Fellela, Lima ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO CRIMINAL OFFENSES -- WEAPONS (Sets forth the application requirements for concealed carry permits for firearms, provides an appellate procedure if the application is denied and makes those records exempt from the Access to Public Records Act.)

House Bill No. 6040 BY Edwards, Chippendale, Canario, Fellela, Lima ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO CRIMINAL OFFENSES -- WEAPONS (Authorizes the attorney general to enter into agreements with other states and counties from other states to recognize and give reciprocity to concealed weapon permit holders allowing them to carry concealed weapons in this state.)