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January 31, 2008

Organization rates R.I. 7th best in nation on gun laws

Rhode Island ranked seventh best in the nation, showing "good progress," in enacting laws to prevent criminals and others who pose dangers from easily getting guns, but more can be done, according to the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, which released its national scorecard today.

Rhode Island scored 47 points out of a possible 100 in the scorecard that measured the 50 states across five areas of law. California was best in the nation, scoring 79 points, followed by New Jersey, and a third-place tie between Connecticut and Massachusetts. Maryland and New York also fared better than Rhode Island, according to the organization.

Worst in the nation in enacting gun-control laws were Kentucky and Oklahoma, which each got 2 points.

The five areas of law from which scores were reached are:

* Curbing firearm trafficking.

* Bolstering "Brady Background Checks."

* Child safety.

* Banning military-style assault weapons.

* Making it harder to carry guns in public places.

Check out the organization's state-by-state scores, category-by-category, at www.bradycampaign.org.
The organization came about in the aftermath of the 1981 shootings of James Brady, who was an assistant to President Ronald Reagan and White House press secretary, and President Reagan. Brady is permanantly disabled as result of the shooting.

“Rhode Island is doing a better job than most states in adopting laws designed to make it harder for criminals and other dangerous people to access guns,” Paul Helmke, the national organization's president, said in the statement.

“While Rhode Island has made some progress, much more needs to be done,” Cathie Whittenburg, director of New England Coalition to Prevent Gun Violence, said in the statement. “We’re certainly not satisfied.”

The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence notes in its release that the state is seeking to improve its score by "making crime gun identification and regulating gun dealers as their new top priorities in this year’s legislature." The release cites "cutting-edge" technology called “microstamping" that legislation would give law enforcement -- "a powerful investigative tool to solve more gun crimes and apprehend more armed criminals and gang members by identifying the crime gun -- without the gun."

Read more about microstamping here.

-- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney

Posted by Mike McKinney  at 12:17 PM | Permalink

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