Discussing gun control bills with Rhode Island legislature
Erik Ryfa, Republican Atheists’ Rhode Island Correspondent, recently spoke to Rhode Island legislature during a House and Senate Committee meeting regarding gun control bills.
Erik provided background detail on how he became involved in Second Amendment advocacy and what he said to the legislature.
“My involvement with the Second Amendment community began a little over two years ago. The events of the 2020 pandemic coupled with the riots and looting of the time prompted me to think more than ever about self defense and the defense of my family.
I have always had family and friends who were gun owners and we discussed the many myths about guns. I guess, for myself, I think I have a better gift to articulate and argue these problems than my peers, so I took up the cause.
I became an active gun owner and discovered I really enjoy the sport as well. I am relatively new to the movement. In line with what the Biden administration is doing, the Rhode Island legislature (which is overwhelmingly Democrat) decided it was going to impose even more draconian gun laws, in spite of Rhode Island being a relatively low gun violence state.
The Rhode Island Second Amendment community has been a very active community for a long time. They frequently battle the imposition of crazy laws trying to be imposed by the far left which tends to run Rhode Island politics.
A list of these bills were put out to my gun club and local organizations I belong to where we could review and comment. We could write and comment on each bill in letter, e-mail and phone to our representatives. The legislature often allows the public to speak during the hearings. Unfortunately due to COVID they called us at home in order to make our comments which limited all of us to a one minute and fifteen second comment!! This was difficult as one cannot comment on 15 bills in one minute. So many like myself made broader comments about gun control. First they had the House section were I was able to comment, second was Senate which occurred this week.
The following is what I read to the panel:
“As an artist and musician I have to say the First Amendment is usually my primary concern, but now I find myself needing to defend my Second Amendment. Both are being eroded in this day by extreme activists.
Many of these bills proposed stifle my Second Amendment rights and seem based on fear and not reason. In some cases I think they are just a cynical workaround to our civil rights. They seem much more about control than safety.
Ralph Waldo Emerson in his 1837 poem ‘Concord Hymn,’ whose opening stanza is: ‘By the rude bridge that arched the flood/Their flag to April’s breeze unfurled/Here once the embattled farmers stood/And fired the shot heard round the world.’
That shot is not the sound of a musket, it is a statement that created the Bill Of Rights. Human rights put into the heart of our society. The rights of the individual to life, liberty and property. The right tools to defend oneself. Tools that defend all our human rights.
We have been seeing a steady erosion of these principles and therefore erosion of our hard won human rights. I have seen a continued acceptance of social control through fear, fear that leads to submission and authoritarianism. I think we hear such rhetoric from some on this panel. Pushing fear to garner authority.
As a Husband and a parent I see many of these bills a hindrance on my ability to protect my family, my property and my community. They require me to be a victim because of the fear of others. They require me to be a victim in vague hope of preventing victimhood. They require me to be a victim for control. They require me to be a victim for a false sense of security.
This trend needs to be reversed for the future of our children’s freedoms. These bills reflect these trends and must be stopped.”
If you are interested in Second Amendment advocacy, you can start with becoming acquainted with these organizations:
NRA (National Rifle Association)
U.S. Concealed Carry Association
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