And then there were FIVE...(Gun-control states)

RI lawmakers unveil gun-control package, including ban on semiautomatic assault weapons

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Governor Chafee and state leaders revealed a package of gun control bills Tuesday that would ban semiautomatic assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, increase penalties and close loopholes on gun crimes, and take steps to include mental-health records in background checks.

Rhode Island currently has among the toughest gun laws in the nation, according to the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. For one, the state requires background checks on all firearm purchases.

But the bills unveiled Tuesday would add restrictions and fix what some say are shortcomings. For example: Rhode Island doesn't contribute mental health or substance abuse records to the FBI's National Instant Background Check System, so there's no way of knowing if people buying guns in Rhode Island are truly eligible.

* Bans on high-capacity magazines and semiautomatic assault weapons after July 1.

* Creation of a task force to guide the state in submitting records about mental health and substance abuse to the FBI's background check system.

* Creation of a relief board for those denied firearms based on mental-health or substance-abuse backgrounds.

* Granting the attorney general's office the sole power to approve conceal-carry permits.

* Authorizing lengthy sentences to straw purchasers and anyone who gives a gun to a juvenile, who uses it a violent crime.

* Increasing the penalty for not reporting lost or stolen firearms.

* Barring anyone from carrying a rifle or shotgun, openly or concealed, anywhere in public, except for those who are hunting or target shooting.

http://news.providencejournal.com/break ... emiau.html

The Dems have about a 80% advantage in both the RI House and Senate... Passage is virtually assured...

Oregon is already moving...They will become the SIXTH state...

(Insert standard "It wouldn't stop __________" talking-point here)

I thought all 50 states controlled the use of guns?

And it is interesting to see that there is little correlation between strict gun rules and lower homicide rates.

FredHayek wrote: And it is interesting to see that there is little correlation between strict gun rules and lower homicide rates.

Gee, other than the usual self-serving garbage from the NRA and it's supporters, I found quite a bit of evidence to the contrary...


States with most restrictive gun-control laws have lower gun-related deaths, study finds
By Bob Egelko
San Francisco Chronicle


Firearm Deaths Lower Where Gun Laws Strong
By John Gever, Senior Editor, MedPage Today
Published: March 06, 2013
Reviewed by Zalman S. Agus, MD; Emeritus Professor, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and Dorothy Caputo, MA, BSN, RN, Nurse Planner

And numerous references to a study by Boston Children's Hospital

Personally, I don't care if you like the sources or not, but just stating your opinion that there is "little correlation", (and as usual with no sources other than your opinion), I believe that about as much as I believe Wayne LaPierre is sane.

Compare Chicago and New York City. Both towns have very strict gun laws but Chicago's murderer rate is much higher. Actual facts instead of your slanted pieces of crap.

I'll rely on my peer-reviewed studies instead of your NRA-supplied anecdotal examples.... But thanks.

Really, you are going to deny there is a difference in the gun murder rate between Chicago and New York last year? Has HuffPo not given you your talking points for this discrepancy yet?

Really, I'm going to take the results of two peer-reviewed studies over your anecdotal comparisons. And since neither one of my sources---(You should try looking up that word "sources" some time)--are from HuffPo, I would suspect you didn't read either one of them, and frankly, I could care less...

But you got to use "HuffPo" in a sentence...

You own source admitted they could not establish a causal effect relationship between firearm laws and lower gun deaths. Murders are so relatively rare and a shooting like Newtown or Columbine will throw off the statistics.

For example, Chicago is having a drug war right now, with gangs fighting over turf so the murder rate is higher than New York where the boundaries are clearly established.

There does seem to be a definite correlation between gun ownership and suicide rates because guns tend to so much more immediate than other ways like pills or razors.

And peer-reviewed studies say "Firearm Deaths Lower Where Gun Laws Strong"...

I'll stick with that instead of your NRA-supplied talking-points.

Oh, and did you happen to notice that FIVE states have now passed stronger gun-control laws, and a SIXTH (Oregon) has just started the process...

I guess pretty soon we'll have SIX states where we will have historical information to base future reports on.