Current Affairs

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You will find links here to like-minded websites, blogs or any online media article that fairly articulates the challenges that those of us who value our liberty are facing on a daily basis in the battle to defend the Second Amendment.  The views expressed in the links are the intellectual property of the respective authors and may not be attributed to any other source other than that author. 
​ 2014 -Updated Weekly - the RI Gun Blog
​ 2014 -Dexter's Corner.
For more information about the Coalition and how you can help,
​please send us an email atinfo@ri2nd.org

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"The beauty of  the Second Amendment is that it will not be needed until they try to take it."

-Thomas Jefferson

Who Else is on the Side of Rhode Island Gun Owners?  


Rhode Island is served by many pro-firearms rights groups.  The National Rifle Association Institute for Legislative Action (NRA-ILA) is not only the best known, but they are also the oldest organization that has been protecting our rights protected by the 2nd Amendment.  A tremendous amount of great information is available on their website; http://www.nraila.org/legislation.aspx.


Citizen's Rights Action League (CRAL) - is an extremely educational website for gun owners in RI to understand the benefits of firearms ownership by law-abiding citizens, the merits of the shooting-sports, and the truth about the effects of gun control on our society; http://www.cralri.com/


Rhode Island Firearms Owners League (RIFOL) - is a group that is a wealth of information on the preservation for all law-abiding Rhode Islanders of the rights guaranteed to us through the US Constitution, and Article 1, Section 22 of the Constitutions of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations through education, litigation, and legislation. http://www.rifol.org/


Federated Rhode Island Sportsmen's Clubs (the Federated) - Brings Rhode Island sporting clubs together to work with each other promoting our common heritage in the shooting, trapping, fishing and outdoor activities that we all benefit from.  https://federatedri.org/



The RI 2nd Amendment Coalition is exactly that; a "Coalition";

coalition \ˌkō-ə-ˈli-shən\ noun

             1. an alliance or union between groups, factions, or parties, esp for some temporary and specific reason

             2. a fusion or merging into one body or mass


 

The hard working volunteers in the RI 2nd Amendment Coalition are working very diligently at highlighting the reality that not only are there many groups in Rhode Island that have a vested interest in conserving our 2nd Amendment and RI Const. Article 1-Sec. 22 rights, but that these groups are all working together - specializing in what they do best, and we're all working shoulder to shoulder to combat these unreasonable attacks.

How Do I Join the Coalition?  


The Rhode Island Second Amendment Coalition does not have a typical "membership" - we believe that all law abiding Rhode Island firearms owners are the very people that make up our membership. We have a core group of dedicated professionals that have donated their time and services to keep our message alive, and to accomplish our mission. We are fighting for the rights of ALL law-abiding Rhode Island firearms owners ans we view every single one as a "member." So if you are Rhode Island gun owner that obeys the law - then welcome aboard!


As the first two paragraphs explain, we are focused on keeping the lobbyist working on the issues that we are against, and promoting the issues we are in favor of. To do this, we've enlisted one of Rhode Island's most effective lobbyists and in order to keep him going, we are relying on the contributions of freedom-loving Rhode Islanders as individuals, members of clubs or organizations, and also the retailers that service our sporting activities whether they are gun stores, gunsmiths, or sporting goods providers.


So please - by all means consider yourself a member of the Coalition! A coalition, by definition, is a group of like minded individuals working together to achieve one common goal. We encourage everyone to become members of the NRA, and support the efforts of all the great groups that Rhode Island is fortunate to have on our side. "If we have so many good groups, why do we need another one?"


That's a fair question - and the response is the same as what we must be telling those who would seek to limit the number of firearms an individual can own - or the number of rounds that a magazine can hold - or how many guns can be purchased in one month - we tell them the same thing; Can you ever have enough "ammunition" when you're in battle? Can you ever have enough "firepower" on your side when your enemy is much more powerful than you are? Can we ever have enough people in the State House fighting for our rights?


The answer to all of these questions is of course; NO!

Copyright © Rhode Island 2nd Amendment Coalition.

NRA State Association

Rhode Island

2nd Amendment Coalition

What Are the Issues?

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When the Rhode Island Legislature is in session, we must be vigilant about our rights, and their attempts to infringe on them. They  have, and will continue to submit legislation that is geared toward the elimination of our 2nd amendment rights, while making no attempt at addressing the root problem. The bills that are typically submitted are realistically only going to impact law-abiding gun owners. One of the things we need to constantly remind ourselves of, is that the typical anti-gun lawmaker legislates with their "heart", not their brain. Consequently, the impact any of their bills would have only impact those who abide by the law. This is something that never seems to weigh on the decisions that certain legislators make when they draft legislation.  If we could get "bad guys" to obey the laws we already have, there would be absolutely no need for more laws that limit our 2nd Amendment-protected freedoms.  


​The 2nd Amendment Coalition is focused on keeping our lobbyist working on the legislature to educate them on the issues, and to persuade them to explore the truth behind the issues. This is going to remain the focus of this organization.

How Do We Help the Coalition?  


Remember that YOU are the Coalition - YOU are the Rhode Island Firearm Owner who is facing Draconian attacks on your liberties. But you are not powerless - in addition to contributing to the Coalition's Legal Fund, you should be contacting both of your state legislators - your Representative in the House, and your Senator.  If you are unsure who your Rep and Senator is, then go here and enter your street address to find out; https://sos.ri.gov/vic/  You simply enter your street address and town, and it will list all of your local, state and federal officials. 

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Once you find your state Representative and Senator, then use the following websites to find out how to contact them.

State Representatives; http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/Email/RepEmailListDistrict.asp
State Senators; http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/Email/SenEmailListDistrict.asp


Once you locate your own Representative and Senator, write them an email using your own words, and expressing politely what your position is on the issue you are writing about.  You should feel free to contact them repeatedly if you are not getting the answers you want - or worse yet, if they are not answering you at all.  Remember - they represent you, and they owe you the minimum courtesy of a response. You are also encouraged to follow up the emails you send with phone call. This will let them know that you are serious about the issue, and also help in the event that they did not receive the email for some reason. 


​After you write to your officials, you should then write to every other Representative and Senator in the RI Legislature. There are 38 Senators, and 75 Representatives - that's a total of 113 law makers. It will take extra time to send individual custom emails addressed directly to the legislators; example; "Honorable Representative Jones," But this goes a long way toward establishing that you are serious about this issue with that legislator and you want answers on their positions. Take the extra time - write a custom email and you will be making a much larger impact than sending a single email to with all legislators on the distribution list.



How Do I Testify for or Against a Firearm or Sporting Related Bill?