In May, the assault weapons ban proposal received a high-profile push from Governor Daniel J. McKee, national Moms Demand Action executive director Angela Ferrell-Zabala, and others.
But last week, Ruggerio took part in “Rhode Island Report Live,” an event marking the Boston Globe podcast’s 100th episode, saying he does not support the proposed ban on “assault-style” weapons. “I think if you’re going to ban assault weapons, you have to ban it nationally,” he said, drawing boos from advocates in the Rhode Island PBS studio audience.
“In a state with an all-Democratic leadership team and a Democratic supermajority, this poll reaffirms overwhelming support from the voters who elected them to office for common-sense gun safety laws, including an assault weapons ban and requiring firearms to be securely stored,” said Nick Suplina, senior vice president for law and policy at Everytown for Gun Safety. “We urge leaders in the Rhode Island General Assembly to build upon the significant progress they have made on gun safety in recent years and bring these lifesaving bills to the floor for a vote.”
The poll zeroes in on the Democratic primary electorate in the communities of both Ruggerio, a North Providence Democrat, and House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi, a Warwick Democrat.
The poll found that 72 percent of Democrats and 74.5 percent of independents in North Providence back an assault weapons ban, while 90 percent of Democrats and 75 percent of independents support such legislation in Warwick. The poll also found that 91 percent of Democrats and 91.5 percent of independents in North Providence support a safe storage bill, while 97 percent of Democrats and 98 percent of independents support that legislation in Warwick.
Fleming and Associates polled 400 eligible and likely Democratic primary voters, including Democrats and independents, between May 30 and June 3, and the results have a margin of error of 4.88 percentage points. Fleming also polled 150 eligible and likely Democratic primary voters in both North Providence and Warwick, and those results have a margin of error of 8 percentage points. The poll did not include Republicans.
“The poll reaffirms overwhelming support for common-sense gun safety policies — including the laws passed by the Rhode Island General Assembly in recent years, as well as the gun safety bills proposed this year,” the polling memo states.
The poll also asked whether Democratic primary voters would be more or less likely to support a candidate “who supports strengthening Rhode Island’s gun violence prevention laws.”
Statewide, 71 percent said they’d be more likely to vote for a candidate who strengthens gun laws, while 5 percent they’d be less likely. In North Providence, 72 percent would be more likely, while 5 percent would be less likely. And in Warwick, 75 percent would be more likely, while 3 percent would be less likely.
Last year, the General Assembly passed — and McKee signed — laws that limit magazine capacity to 10 rounds, prohibit the open carry of long guns in public, and raise the age from 18 to 21 to buy long guns and ammunition.
The poll found that, statewide, 89 percent of Democrats and 75.5 percent of independents support the ban of high-capacity magazines. In North Providence, 82 percent of Democrats and 70 percent of independents backed that measure. And in Warwick, 88.5 percent of Democrats and 77 percent of independents voters support it.
Meanwhile, 34 groups have signed onto a letter to Ruggerio and Shekarchi backing the assault weapons ban and the safe storage bill.
“Assault weapons are the guns of choice for many mass shooters for a reason — they are designed to rip human bodies apart. They are brutally efficient at killing as many people as possible in a short time,” the groups said. “They’ve been used in Rhode Island to fire upon law enforcement officers in two separate cases linked to domestic violence. They don’t belong in Rhode Island’s communities — they belong on a battlefield.”
The letter was signed by groups including the Black Lives Matter RI PAC, the League of Women Voters of Rhode Island, the Nonviolence Institute, the Rhode Island AFL-CIO, the Rhode Island Coalition Against Domestic Violence, the Rhode Island Coalition Against Gun Violence, Rhode Island KIDS COUNT, the Rhode Island Medical Society, Rhode Island Moms Demand Action, and the United Way of Rhode Island.
“Reinforcing secure gun storage as a cultural norm in Rhode Island is crucial,” the groups said, “as it will help prevent unintentional shootings, gun suicides, gun theft, and targeted school violence, and will keep guns out of the hands of children and people who are legally prohibited from possessing them. Recent tragic cases in Rhode Island of unsecured guns resulting in deaths illustrate how important it is to keep firearms locked up when not in use.”
But legislators have also received letters opposing the proposed legislation. For example, attorney Andrew R. Dimitri, told lawmakers, “I would first like to point out there is no such firearm as an “assault rifle.” This is a made up term; in fact, ‘AR,’ the specific gun that is the subject of so much contention, stands for Armalite, the company who first manufactured this type of device.”
Dimitri said he is certain the bill would do nothing to reduce violent crime.
“If anything, it will serve to disarm law abiding families while criminals will continue to possess all manner of weaponry, as is their nature; after all, they are ‘criminals,’” he wrote. “I would be anxious to see, if this bill unfortunately passes, how it reduces the gang violence in Rhode Island, specifically the City of Providence. I would be confident to assume it will have no reducing affect. In essence, you will be creating felons out of hundreds of thousands of Rhode Islanders, should they refuse the unconstitutional measure of ‘registering’ their legal property with the town or city.”
A.G. Palazzo, a retired US Navy commander, also wrote in opposition to the assault weapons bill. He emphasized that the Rhode Island Constitution states that “The right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.”
“Has this body ever even read those words?” he wrote. “Sometimes I wonder. Or, in your eagerness to write legislation, ignore the supreme law of this state?”
Edward Fitzpatrick can be reached at edward.fitzpatrick@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @FitzProv.
