Woonsocket Radio News Room

 

Following U.S. Supreme Court decision, bump stocks remain illegal in Rhode Island

 

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Attorney General Peter F. Neronha issued the following statement regarding the Supreme Court’s decision in Garland v. Cargill to strike down an important federal gun safety regulation:

 

“In 2017, thousands gathered in Las Vegas to attend a country music festival, during which a gunman opened fire on the crowd, killing 60 people and injuring more than 850 – the worst mass shooting in American history. Several of the shooter’s firearms were fitted with bump stocks that allowed him to fire approximately 90 rounds in 10 seconds and more than 1,000 rounds in total. Today, the Supreme Court struck down a federal ban on bump stocks that was imposed following this horrifying event.

 

“It has always been my belief that common sense gun regulation keeps Rhode Islanders safe and secure. Since I’ve been Attorney General, I’ve fought hard for necessary reforms to our gun laws, including bans on large capacity magazines, straw purchasing, and ghost guns, and most recently, a law that requires safe storage of firearms when not in use. And my office has successfully defended several important gun safety measures.

 

“Notwithstanding today’s decision, Rhode Island has a state law in place that prohibits specific devices that modify a firearm to allow fully automatic rates of fire – so bump stocks have been and remain banned in our state. Because today’s Supreme Court decision affects only federal regulatory authority regarding bump stocks, our Rhode Island bump stock ban can and will continue to be enforced.

 

“My office’s approach to dangerous, illegal firearms remains clear: we will use every tool at our disposal to rid Rhode Island of the perils of gun violence, and we will continue to fight for common sense gun laws that protect innocent people from harm.”

 

 

It's Day 23 of the government shutdown. The Senate failed for the 12th time on Wednesday to pass a funding bill that would end the shutdown. Three Democrats voted with Republicans in support of the bill, but still came up short. That followed a 22-hour speech by Oregon Democrat Jeff Merkley, who protested what he called President Trump's "authoritarianism."        Federal agents are reportedly heading to San Francisco for an immigration operation after President Trump said he was going to send in the National Guard. San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie opposes the move and says the agents will not make the city safer or help solve its drug problem.        The man accused of threatening to kill House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries has a court appearance today. Authorities say 34-year-old Christopher Moynihan had claimed he was going to eliminate the New York Democrat, and officials were notified of the threat by the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force.        Construction crews are demolishing the East Wing of the White House to make room for President Trump's new ballroom. Trump said Wednesday he was tearing down the entire East Wing to make space for his 90-thousand-square-foot ballroom. He called the East Wing a "very small building" that "was never thought of as being much."        Meta says it's cutting 600 jobs from its superintelligence lab but is calling it a reorganization. Axios reports that Meta's chief AI officer Alexandr Wang broke the news on Wednesday in a company memo. The Facebook company claims that most people hit by the cuts will be able to find news jobs inside Meta.        The creator of "The Sopranos" is working on a new series about how the CIA conducted psychedelic mind control experiments during the Cold War. The limited series "Project: MKUltra" by producer David Chase is in development at HBO. It's the first series from Chase since "The Sopranos" ended in 2007.       

Old News Archives