North Smithfield council adopts resolution opposing Rhode Island 2024 gun-control measure

North Smithfield Town Council members voted 3-2 on June 16 to adopt a resolution expressing opposition to Rhode Island 2024 gun-control legislation, after public comment and more than an hour of council discussion.

The measure was moved as “a resolution of the town of North Smithfield in opposition to Rhode Island 2024 gun control legislation.” Councilor Beauregard made the motion; the second was announced on the floor but not recorded in the transcript. The roll call recorded Councilor Beauregard, Councilor O’Hara and Councilor Punczak voting yes; Councilor Cristoforo and Councilor Alves voting no. The resolution passed.

The vote followed a public comment from James Dauvin, who said he had submitted a petition and delivered 63 signatures in support of the resolution. “I just made a petition, and I have 63 signatures in support of the resolution now,” Dauvin told the council during the open forum.

In supporting the resolution, Councilor Beauregard read a prepared statement that repeatedly invoked the U.S. Constitution’s Second Amendment. “The right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed,” he said in reviewing the constitutional language and urging the council and state senators to remember their oaths.

Other council members framed the issue differently. One councilor who identified herself as a parent said she had researched gun-violence statistics and expressed concern for children’s safety at school, saying she did not seek to “restrict anybody’s constitutional rights” but worried about guns getting into the “wrong people’s” hands. Another councilor asked the town solicitor whether a town stance would change the town’s obligation to follow state law; the solicitor replied that a local resolution would not preclude compliance with state law if the state enacts new requirements.

Why it matters: Town resolutions like this do not change state law but are intended to register local opinion to state legislators. Council members debated whether a formal position from North Smithfield would influence the state process; the town solicitor said local resolutions enter the state legislative record as part of broader consideration but do not override state statutes.

The council made no legal or enforcement changes to local ordinance; the resolution is a statement of position to be forwarded to the state legislature and entered in the town record.

Council action and next steps: The resolution was adopted at the June 16 meeting and will be transmitted as the council’s official position on the pending state legislation. The transcript shows the vote and the statements recorded during debate; council members said they hoped the measure would give North Smithfield residents an opportunity to make their views known to state lawmakers.

Ending note: The council moved on to budget business after the vote and scheduled further budget hearings later in the meeting.