The Burrillville Democratic Town Committee wishes to respond to the Burrillville Town Council’s resolution to oppose Rhode Island Gun safety legislation. While the vast majority of other communities in the state oppose the idea of gun “sanctuary” cities, support background checks, and propose safe-storage laws, the Burrillville Town Council has presented historical misinformation and radically skewed statistics in an attempt to rationalize their extreme position on guns. In this letter, we will point out the shortcomings in their resolution and encourage all citizens of Burrillville to join with other Rhode Island communities who have found ways to support gun ownership in ways that safeguard both Constitutional liberties and community safety. By misrepresenting the US Constitution, presenting unsubstantiated claims about gun safety legislation, and ignoring life and death statistics about the ravages of gun violence, the Burrillville Town Council unanimously passed an extreme resolution that isolates Burrillville from many of our Rhode Island neighbors.
- In their resolution, the BTC suggests that the Second Amendment “protects the inalienable and individual right of the people to keep and bear arms.” This is either a mistake or a deliberate misreading of the founding documents. While the word “unalienable” is used by the Founding Fathers, it is used not in the Constitution, but in the Declaration of Independence where it refers to “certain unalienable Rights and that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.” The Preamble to the Constitution makes clear the purpose of establishing the government is to create “unity,” “justice,” “tranquility,” “common defense” (emphasis added), “general welfare” (emphasis added), and “blessings of liberty.”
- The United States government has always regulated gun ownership and made clear it is in service to the good of the nation as a whole. It is not enshrined as an “individual right.” Indeed, the second amendment was less about guns than about militia, and being sure that that militia had enough guns, in good enough condition (well regulated) to fight a war. Those guns, the gunpowder, and the size of the musket balls, were inspected on a regular basis (aka gun control) by those who trained that militia. The attempts by our supreme court, echoed by the Burrillville Town Council, to ignore this inconvenient history are making all of us less safe.
- The 2022 seizure of 211 guns (several of which were “ghost guns”) in Burrillville is the logical result of discouraging any and all forms of gun control. The BTC’s resolution asserts without evidence that “gun restriction bills. . . infringe upon the rights of the People of the Town of Burrillville and the People of the State of Rhode Island to keep and bear arms. . . .[and that] this law has created hardship, uncertainty, and fear among law-abiding gun owners.” Reports from the CDC, the NIH, and peer reviewed medical and sociological journals, indicate that the most likely person to be injured by a gun is a person living at a home with a gun, and the most likely suicide attempt to succeed is one done with a gun. Nationally, 66% of female intimate partner homicide victims are killed with guns”(EveryStat.org). According to the World Population Review, “Guns are now the leading cause of death among children and adolescents in the United States . . . . Research suggests the primary factor contributing to the frequency of school shootings in the United States is the prevalence and availability of guns.” Given these facts it is clear that more, not fewer, gun controls are needed.
The BDTC argues instead that the BTC’s position of unregulated gun ownership, the ironic idea of a, “sanctuary,” for gun owners, and resistance even to requiring guns be kept in “locked container” endangers our children, our public spaces, and our ability to trust the arguments presented by our current local government.
The BDTC encourages all citizens of Burrillville to raise their voices at town meetings, on their social media platforms and to join with other Rhode Island communities who have found ways to support gun ownership in ways that safeguard both individual liberties and community safety. The BDTC is dedicated to continuing to raise these issues in concert with other community-based organizations and local government leaders.
Burrillville Democratic Town Committee
Thank you for that education.
I do agree guns laws are needed
What it really is is a desperate search for some answer and to fix to all the violence that is occurring in our country. There has to be some common sense dialogue that people can have to prevent the huge number of monthly deaths that occur every year.
Of course, we all know this is simply another attack on Republicans and 2nd amendment supporters. Every year the anti-gunners pull another agenda item out of their hats, and little by little they chip away at our 2nd amendment rights. They are tenacious and won’t stop until they achieve their ultimate goal of banning all guns. They may say otherwise, but that is their true goal. Don’t ever forget that.
After an ex president gets shot we need gun safety laws.
Which of the facts in the letter above do you disagree with? Everything that was said points to the fact that some measure of gun control is needed. What facts do you have the support your theory? No one in this letter is asking for guns to be taken away…just for some common sense policies to be in place that will protect our community.
You are 100% incorrect. Most of what was said to support gun control was false. The state or towns will not stop gun violence or suicides with these laws. That is a fact. Our society has changed through the years. Firearms have been here for centuries. The Firearms are not the problem. People are the problem. Don’t tell the good people they are bad. Show the bad people they are. People will do harm to others if that is their goal. Weather it is a Firearm. A bat, a car or even a fist. Think beyond your personal day to day. Think about others way of life.