An overwhelming majority of Rhode Islanders support a bill to make it illegal for those convicted of domestic abuse or those under a domestic violence protective order to possess guns according to a new poll from the Rhode Island Chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America and Everytown for Gun Safety.
The poll comes as Rhode Island’s General Assembly considers two bills: S0503 and H5655, which will prohibit domestic abusers from possessing guns. Rhode Island Moms issued a statement in support of the legislation when the bill was introduced in February, saying “it’s just common sense that people convicted of domestic violence crimes and under protective orders shouldn’t possess guns.”
Among the poll’s findings:
80 percent of Rhode Islanders support a proposal to change state law so that a person convicted of domestic violence or a person subject to a domestic violence protective order cannot buy or possess a gun.
83 percent of Rhode Islanders believe people convicted of a domestic violence crime should not be allowed to buy or possess a gun and 82 percent believe people subject to a domestic violence protective order should not be allowed to buy or possess a gun.
76 percent of Rhode Islanders support a proposal to change state law so that a person convicted of domestic violence or a person subject to a domestic violence protective order has to turn in any guns they already own.
72 percent of Rhode Islanders believe it’s possible to protect the Second Amendment while also keeping guns away from dangerous people.
“The poll shows that keeping guns away from domestic abusers is something four out of five Rhode Islanders support,” said Jennifer Smith Boylan, volunteer chapter leader with the Rhode Island Chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America. “It’s not surprising that an overwhelming majority of Rhode Islanders rally behind this common sense proposal. States as diverse as Texas, Connecticut, and 20 others have already taken similar steps to protect domestic violence victims from armed abusers. Eighty percent of Rhode Islanders, and the nearly 10,000 Everytown supporters in our state, urge our lawmakers to get up to speed.”
This poll comes in the wake of the largest Rally Against Gun Violence ever staged at the State House. Over 350 people rallied to ask the General Assembly to approve this legislation.
This post is crafted from an Everytown for Gun Safety and Moms Demand Action press release.
