Faith leaders call on General Assembly leaders to ban assault-style weapons

PROVIDENCE — Thoughts and prayers were on the minds of a dozen faith leaders from across Rhode Island gathered in the State House library Tuesday afternoon — and not just the kind reflexively offered after a mass shooting.

“The time has come to complete the adoption of essential, common-sense measures to protect human life from gun violence,” said the Rev. Effie McAvoy, a pastor at Shepherd of the Valley United Methodist Church in Scituate.

The group called on the General Assembly to act on two bills seeking to tighten Rhode Island’s gun laws.

One bill, dubbed the “Rhode Island Assault Weapons Ban of 2024” would prohibit the possession, sale, and transfer of semi-automatic firearms with certain features including detachable magazines or a folding stock. Gov. Dan McKee called such a ban in his State of the State address in January.

The other bill requires firearms be safely stored to prevent access by persons prohibited from possessing a weapon.

Both bills are scheduled to appear before the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday, March 13.

“Abiding in a state of hope, it is our hallowed responsibility — all of us, together and today — to do these things and bring and bring an end to this long, unendurable national grief,” McAvoy said.

Tuesday’s rally was organized by Rhode Island Moms Demand Action, which is part of the Everytown for Gun Safety network. Religious leaders signed a statement addressed to all elected executive and state officials, along with all citizens of Rhode Island, demanding an end to gun violence.

In addition to McAvoy, those signing the statement included: the Rev. Canon Dena Cleaver-Bartholomew, Episcopal Diocese of Rhode Island; the Rev. Eugene T. Dyszlewski, pastor at the Little Rock Baptist Church, Lincoln and president of Rhode Island State Council of Churches; Adam Greenman, president and CEO of the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island; Mufti Ikram ul-Haq, imam at the Masjid Al-Islam mosque in North Smithfield; Angela Howard-McParland, justice resource manager for the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas and co-founder of Nuns Against Gun Violence Coalition; the Rev. Howard Jenkins, Jr., pastor of Beth-el AME Church in Providence and president of Ministers Alliance of Rhode Island; Jeremy Langill, executive minister of the Rhode Island State Council of Churches; the Rev. Nancy Soukup, pastor for the First Congregational Church in Bristol; the Rev. Elizabeth Lerner Maclay, senior minister for the First Unitarian Church of Providence; Rabbi Howard Voss Altman of Temple Habonim in Barrington; the Rev. Dr. Jamie Washam, pastor for the First Baptist Church of Providence; and Swami Yogatmananda, a Hindu minister for the Vedanta Society of Providence.

Bishop Richard G. Henning of the Diocese of Providence was not present at the rally, but organizers released a statement from him at the event in support of safe storage of firearms and a ban on assault weapons. Henning said the Rhode Island Catholic Conference intends to testify in favor of the legislation when they are discussed in committee next week.

“Human life is sacred and merits every effort in its defense,” Henning said.

While gun deaths in Rhode Island are relatively low compared to the national average of 13 per 100,000 people, faith leaders say it’s only a matter of time before a mass shooting happens in Rhode Island.

“And then it will be too late to take the high road,” said the Rev. Elizabeth Lerner Maclay, a minister for the First Unitarian Church of Providence.

On average, 51 Rhode Islanders are killed by guns and 165 people are wounded every year, Everytown reports. That’s a rate of 4.7 deaths per 100,000 people. More than 60% of these deaths are self-inflicted.

Another year, another battle

It’s not the first time religious leaders have called on state officials to update Rhode Island’s gun laws. the Rev. Canon Dena Cleaver-Bartholomew told Rhode Island Current that representatives from the Episcopal Diocese have made the weapons ban a top priority over the last four legislative sessions.

The Episcopal Diocese has also advocated for additional housing stock.

“For many of us, politics is an expression of our faith,” Cleaver-Bartholomew said. “We live it out in the everyday world.”

Faith leaders like Rabbi Voss-Altman of Temple Habonim in Barrington worry the bills could end up dying in committee again like last year.

“When I talk to Moms Demand Action and they tell me they have the [House] Speaker here, then I’ll know something’s going on,” he said.

House spokesperson Larry Berman said in an emailed statement Speaker K Joseph Shekarchi “is keeping an open mind on the legislation and is looking forward to reviewing the testimony at next Wednesday’s House Judiciary Committee public hearing.”

Rep. Jason Knight, a Barrington Democrat who sponsored the assault weapons ban, said internal politics is what’s keeping gun-control legislation from reaching the floor.

“All the obstacles in getting it over the finish line are underneath this dome,” he said in an interview.

He added that arguments against the proposal “don’t hold a lot of water,” saying any allegations of tyranny from pro-second amendment groups are untrue.

“The tyranny we actually live under this day is the tyranny of gun violence,” he said.

Rhode Island Second Amendment Coalition President Frank Saccoccio declined to comment on the legislation. Last year, he told the House Judiciary Committee that attempts at reform the state’s firearms laws only hurt gun-owners already doing things safely.

Glenn Valentine, the president of the Rhode Island Second Amendment PAC, argued the definition of an assault-style weapon in Knight’s bill is too broad. 

“If you walk inside a gun shop, outside of handguns, this applies to all firearms you’d point to,” he said in an interview Tuesday evening. “It’s not a ban on a handful of guns, it’s a ban on most guns.”

While he’s not certain about gun reform happening this legislative session, Voss-Altman said he remains hopeful it will happen soon.

“You play the long game and you just keep doing it, knocking at the door until it opens,” he said.

There’s a Jewish saying Voss-Altman likes to tell as he continues his push to ban assault weapons in Rhode Island: If you save a life you save an entire universe. But if you destroy a life, you destroy an entire universe.

“We need to prevent more destruction,” he said. “Because those universes, that’s what God intended us to have.”

This story was updated to include comment from Rhode Island Second Amendment PAC president Glenn Valentine.