Hundreds To Testify At RI State House Hearing On Gun Control

BURRILLVILLE, RI — Days after the Burrillville Town Council voted to oppose a slew of statewide gun control measures pending before the Rhode Island General Assembly, authorities announced that nearly 350 people signed up by today's 4 p.m. deadline to testify at a State House hearing on a number of those bills.

The House Judiciary Committee will hear testimony on legislation pertaining to firearms on Friday, March 19 at 1:00 p.m., and protocols were announced today that will allow people to speak and submit testimony remotely.

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“We intend to make our hearings fair and equitable to both sides: those opposed to gun control, as well as those advocating for it,” stated House Judiciary Committee Chairman Robert E. Craven, Sr.

Craven said the procedures are the same used previously for bills pertaining to the Second Amendment. However, due to COVID-19 safety protocols, the State House in Providence is closed to the public. Instead of testifying in person, individuals are testifying virtually.

In a media release, Craven said the following procedures will be applied: sponsors will have three minutes to speak on each bill. Three advocates who are proponents and three advocates who are opponents will offer three minutes of testimony each.

Members of the public who have signed up to provide verbal testimony will have one minute and 15 seconds to speak. A chime will inform those testifying when they have reached one minute, and they will then have 15 seconds to conclude. First preference will be given to Rhode Island residents. Those unable to provide verbal testimony are encouraged to submit written testimony to the committee members.

“I have full faith and confidence that Chairman Craven will treat everyone fairly and impartially as he always does in conducting the Judiciary Committee,” said House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi.

The meeting will be televised live on Capitol Television, which can be seen on Cox Channels 15, and 61, in high definition on Cox Channel 1061, on Full Channel on Channel 15 and on Channel 34 by Verizon subscribers. It will also be live-streamed at www.rilegislature.gov/CapTV.

The lawmakers said written testimony is encouraged and may be emailed to HouseJudiciary@rilegislature.gov. People should indicate their name, the bill number, and their position on the bill (for, against or neither) at the top of the message. For faster processing, submit testimony as a PDF file if possible. Written testimony will be later posted on the General Assembly website.