PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- About 75 people braved the cold to rally against gun violence in front of the State House Saturday.
They heard from U.S. Rep. David Cicilline, North Providence Mayor Charles Lombardi, Providence Public Safety Commissioner Steven Paré, Providence Councilmen Seth Yurdin and Nicholas Narducci Jr. and freshman state Rep. Linda Finn, D-Middletown.
The message: while Rhode Island doesn't allow assault weapons, there are still too many guns on the streets in the Ocean State, and insufficient safeguards regarding background checks and the sale of ammunition.
"Thirty years ago, as a young trooper, I didn't need a bullet-proof vest," said Paré, the former superintendent of the Rhode Island State Police. "Today, every police officer in Rhode Island has a bullet-proof vest because of the number of guns."
The speakers vowed to work on the federal, state and local levels to stiffen gun laws, while safeguarding the Constitutional rights of law-abiding citizens to own guns.