North Kingstown Democrats running for local office this year strongly condemned last year’s attempt by a town “independent” candidate, to oppose the state’s Assault Weapons Ban. North Kingstown Town Council member Beth Hill Ross, the leader of the town’s independent candidates, introduced the resolution in 2025, to oppose the state’s proposed assault weapons ban. Three weeks later, the ban passed the General Assembly with more than 60% support in both houses, and was signed by the Governor. It was supported by all the statewide elected Democrats.

The resolution called for North Kingstown to declare itself a “Second Amendment Sanctuary” town and to renounce the proposed ban, saying it should be rejected, to protect the lawful gun owners of North Kingstown.” Councilor Hill Ross said as she introduced the resolution, “Banning some gun styles is not the answer. Penalizing law-abiding citizens is not the answer.’”

The four Democrats on the council objected. Councilor Linnea Drew said today, “This resolution was introduced a year ago, but today’s horrifying news from Oregon tell us it is hardly a dead issue.” At the time, she said, “Gun violence is the leading cause of death for children, and to even CONSIDER putting the wants of adults to own weapons of war over the safety and fears of children is the height of irresponsibility. I stand in the strongest possible opposition to this resolution.”

The Hill Ross motion received no second, so did not pass. The state legislation went into effect on July 1, 2026.

Candidate Stacey Weinstein, who served on the Town Council from 2018 to 2020, said, “I actively supported the gun legislation passed by the general assembly in 2018, making bump stocks illegal, because I believe these weapons are for only one thing: killing other people, quickly.” She went on, “Sending your kid to school after hearing about one of these attacks breaks your heart every single time. We have to do something more than just wring our hands.”

Newcomer candidate Jess Plavicki pointed out, “I teach at Brown University, which had a tragic lesson in the inadequacy of our nation’s firearms laws last December. The Constitution does not forbid common sense gun regulation and it’s our responsibility as parents and protectors of our children to see that it is put into place.”

Town Council President Greg Mancini pointed out that though the independents are not formally aligned with one another, they are campaigning together and sharing campaign signs and literature. He said, “It’s important for voters to understand the differences between a Democratic Town Council and one run by the independents.”

Support:

https://governor.ri.gov/press-releases/governor-mckee-signs-bill-banning-sale-assault-weapons
https://www.rilegislature.gov/journals/housejournals//2025%20House%20Journals/06-05-2025.pdf
https://www.rilegislature.gov/journals/senatejournals//2025%20Senate%20Journals/06-20-2025.pdf