|
|
Gina Raimondo on Gun Control |
The ban on guns in schools comes in the form of a "binding directive" issued to all Rhode Island school superintendents.
Meanwhile, Republican candidate for governor Patricia Morgan said the governor, instead of coming up with sensible solutions, has chosen to "disrespect the Constitution in a deceitful attempt win primary votes. If she were serious about securing our schools and making our children safe she would have acted sooner to upgrade security measures in all our schools."
Massachusetts, Delaware and Puerto Rico are joining the "States for Gun Safety" coalition--a multi-state partnership launched this month to combat the gun violence epidemic. With the addition of these new members, the coalition of states now represents over 35 million Americans and will take action to stop gun-related violence in the face of continued federal inaction.
Governor Cuomo (D-NY) said, "It's time for the horrifying mass shootings that have plagued this country for far too long to spur real action and real policy changes. Our states collectively already have better gun safety laws than the federal government, and by working together to share information and bolster enforcement, we will keep guns out of the hands of dangerous individuals and better protect our communities. If the federal government refuses to act, we will work together to enact the important reforms families deserve, and I welcome these new states to our coalition."
The three new states will join NY, CT, NJ, and RI in directing their law enforcement intelligence centers to work cooperatively to trace the use of out-of-state guns in crimes and share information in order to intercept criminals transporting illegal guns across state borders.
Additionally, the partner states will also work together to designate an institute of higher education to join the Regional Gun Violence Research Consortium, to fill the void left by the federal government's 1996 ban on the use of federal funds to study gun violence which has obstructed research efforts across the nation.
Building on these efforts, the states will also work to push the federal government to adopt common-sense gun safety measures. In order to protect families and communities across the region, the group will call on the federal government to swiftly enact universal background checks, an assault weapons ban and a federal waiting period between the purchase and delivery of guns.
