Rhode Island seeks to ban assault weapons, large clips
Source: Reuters
Rhode Island seeks to ban assault weapons, large clips
By Scott Malone
BOSTON | Tue Apr 9, 2013 5:36pm EDT
(Reuters) - Rhode Island's independent governor and Democratic leaders on Tuesday proposed a package of laws to clamp down on guns, including a ban on assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition clips, becoming the latest state to address gun violence after the December school shooting in neighboring Connecticut that left 20 first-graders dead.
Governor Lincoln Chaffee and leaders of the Democratic-controlled legislature said they realized the proposals would face opposition from gun-rights proponents, but said it was time to act in the face of violence.
The December shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, which also claimed the lives of six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School, sparked a fresh round of debate on gun control in the United States, where the Second Amendment of the Constitution protects the right to bear arms.
"We have to reconcile what the Second Amendment says and what's happening in our streets and our schools. And that's the goal of this legislation," Chafee said. "The violence in our streets, in our neighborhood, in our schools, is intolerable."
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http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/04/09/us-usa-guns-rhodeisland-idUSBRE93815420130409