Tag: rhode island

RI State Rep: Banning AR-15s Not Enough; We Should Use ‘Police Power’ to Ensure Owners Dispose of Them

On Wednesday, Rhode Island state Rep. Teresa Tanzi (D) spoke in support of efforts to repeal a legislative grandfather clause and use “police power” to force AR-15 owners to dispose of their rifles.

Breitbart News noted in March that Democrats in Rhode Island’s state legislature were trying to remove the grandfather clause that was contained in the “assault weapons” ban passed last year. The grandfather clause allowed those who owned newly prohibited firearms to retain possession of them. But now, the Democrats are pushing to remove the grandfathered aspect of the ban and implement a prison sentence for merely possessing an AR-15. The legislation through which they are attempting this is H8073.

Tanzi spoke in favor of H8703 on Wednesday, saying, “Last year, we as a body, banned the sale, manufacture, and transfer, of certain ‘assault weapons’ as defined in that law. That was an important step, but it was only a partial one. We should be honest about that.”

She continued:

Right now our law draws an arbitrary line. We have said that these firearms cannot enter the market place going forward, but we continue to allow them to remain in circulation indefinitely. … If these weapons are too dangerous to be sold in Rhode Island then we really should have addressed possession at the same time. We didn’t, and this bill [H8073] corrects that.”

Tanzi explained that H8073 will force current AR-15 owners “to come into compliance by selling or transferring them lawfully.”

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Kratom is now legal in RI, making it the first state to overturn ban

Businesses can now start applying for licenses to sell and distribute kratom in Rhode Island.

According to the Rhode Island Department of Health, the psychoactive plant is used to self-treat things like pain, opioid withdrawal and anxiety, but the FDA has not yet approved any kratom products.

The new law will allow people 21 and older to purchase kratom from licensed businesses. But with applications opening Wednesday, it could be a while before kratom goes up on the shelves.

“The average kratom consumer is someone like me … OK, maybe a little younger,” said Mac Haddow, senior fellow on public policy for the American Kratom Association. “It really deals with the normal stresses of daily life and the aches and pains related to it.”

Haddow is part of a national organization that has been advocating for the legalization of kratom in Rhode Island.

The state has a lengthy legislative history with the substance and was one of a few states to ban it in 2017. But after a few years of debate on Smith Hill, Rhode Island has now become the first state in the country to overturn that ban.

A spokesperson for the R.I. Department of Health said retailers will have to go through training similar to what’s already in place for tobacco products.

The law in Rhode Island does ban a synthetic form of kratom known as 7-OH, which federal health officials warn is addictive like opioids and more dangerous than morphine.

Some have pushed back on the legalization of kratom, including Portsmouth state Rep. Michelle McGaw.

“Without clean scientific trials, without going through a drug approval process, I’m not comfortable having a drug that works directly on the opioid receptors,” she said.

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Rhode Island Democrat Rep. Says Mural for Murder Victim Iryna Zarutska ‘Does Not Reflect Our Values’ 

Last night, the Gateway Pundit reported that the mayor of Providence, Rhode Island was caving to left wing activists in the city who wanted him to stop the creation of a mural honoring murder victim Iryna Zarutska, the legal immigrant from Ukraine who was killed by a repeat offender.

Now we have a clip of Rhode Island Democrat Rep. David Morales who said on camera that the mural doesn’t reflect the values of the people of the city.

Who exactly does reflect their values? Zarutska’s killer? This is just stunning.

FOX News reported:

Dem lawmaker sparks online firestorm after saying Iryna Zarutska mural doesn’t align with city’s values

A Rhode Island Democratic state representative is facing blowback on social media after claiming that a mural of Iryna Zarutska, the Ukrainian woman whose brutal murder while riding a North Carolina train sparked national outrage, doesn’t reflect the “values” of the city of Providence.

“Ultimately, we want to make sure that every community member who calls Providence home feels safe,” Rep. David Morales told local media about a mural of Zarutska facing calls to be removed from the exterior of an LGBTQ+ club in downtown Providence.

“We can both agree that this mural behind us does not reflect Providence’s values nor does it reflect the creativity that we would want to see in our city.”

The lawmaker’s comments immediately sparked negative reactions from conservatives on social media after they were posted by the conservative influencer account End Wokeness in a post that has been viewed over 1 million times.

“What are his values?” Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, who is reportedly involved in the mural project, posted on X.

“He cites people wanting to be ‘safe’ as a reason to destroy a mural on a private building meant to honor a murdered woman,” Red State writer Bonchie posted on X. “You can’t imagine how crazy Democrats are in these blue bastions. You think what you see on MSNBC is nuts? It’s even worse in their bubble cities.”

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Far Left Activists Pressure Providence, RI Mayor to Stop Creation of Mural Honoring Murder Victim Iryna Zarutska

Far left activists in Providence, Rhode Island have pressured the mayor to halt the creation of a mural honoring the memory of Iryna Zarutska, the legal immigrant from Ukraine who was murdered by a repeat offender on a train in North Carolina.

The mural was being painted on a wall next to a gay bar in the city. The owners of the bar had no problem with it until leftists started claiming that the mural would be a ‘far right’ symbol.

Providence Mayor Brett Smiley, a Democrat, caved to the activists immediately. This is all so pathetic.

WJAR News in Providence reports:

Providence Mayor Smiley calls for removal of controversial mural honoring slain refugee

What began as a memorial for a slain Ukrainian refugee has transformed into a political lightning rod in the “Creative Capital,” with Mayor Brett Smiley now calling for the artwork’s removal.

The mural, located on the exterior of The Dark Lady, a prominent LGBTQ+ club downtown, remains incomplete as city officials and community members clash over its message and funding.

The Mayor’s Office confirmed Sunday that Smiley wants the mural of Iryna Zarutska taken down.

He later released the following statement: “The murder of the individual depicted in this mural was a devastating tragedy, but the misguided, isolating intent of those funding murals like the one across the county is I continue to encourage our community to support local artists whose work brings us closer together rather than divide us.”…

Artist Ian Gaudreau, who began the work last week, told NBC 10 News on Friday that he never intended for the tribute to be political. Some residents visiting the site over the weekend echoed that sentiment, urging the community to focus on the victim rather than the politics.

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Rhode Island Bill Could Turn Gun Owners Into Criminals for Keeping the Firearms They Legally Bought

Two new bills introduced in the Rhode Island legislature are taking aim at legal gun owners, and one of them could easily turn lawful gun owners into criminals overnight, simply for maintaining possession of the firearms they legally purchased. 

Each of these bills, by themselves, represent a major infringement on the right to keep and bear arms, but taken together they pose an existential threat to the Second Amendment rights of Rhode Island residents. 

Any gun or magazine ban that allows existing owners to maintain possession of their arms can be amended in the future to remove those protections, and that’s exactly what H8073 does with so-called assault weapons. The state’s ban on the sale and transfer of modern sporting rifles, which was only adopted a year ago, would be expanded to prohibit the possession of those arms beginning July 1 of this year. Simply keeping the gun you lawfully purchased could result in a ten-year prison sentence and/or a fine of up to $10,000.

Then there’s H7755, which would expand the state’s “Responsible Firearm Purchasing Act.” Under the current law, anyone purchasing a handgun must provide the seller with a valid “training certificate” issued by the Rhode Island Attorney General, and after the sale has been approved they’re subjected to a 7-day waiting period before they can take possession of their handgun. 

H7755 would expand that requirement (and waiting period) to all gun sales in the state. In order to simply purchase a gun to keep in the home you’d have to take an 8-hour training course complete with a live-fire requirement, and then pass a written test developed by the Attorney General’s office. 

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Trans ice rink shooter Robert Dorgan was cousins with the ex-wife he murdered

Deranged transgender gunman Robert Dorgan was cousins with his ex-wife, Rhonda Dorgan, whom he gunned down along with their son at a high school hockey game.

The twisted relationship emerged after records showed the killer had the same name as his murdered ex and her parents, who were also seriously injured in his rampage Monday, according to the Providence Journal.

A deep dive then showed that he and Rhonda were first cousins once removed when they tied the knot in 1992.

Dorgan had deliberately targeted his family at the high school hockey game in Pawtucket on Monday, killing Rhonda, their son, Aidan, and leaving her parents, Gerald and Linda Dorgan, fighting for their lives.

At first, the reason for the shooter having the same last name as his ex-wife’s parents was not immediately clear, but the outlet delved into their family tree via the 1950 Census.

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Son of trans hockey shooter revealed to be arsonist who attempted to burn down black church as cops seize terrifying weapons stash

The son of the transgender shooter who opened fire at a high school hockey game is serving time in federal prison for setting fire to a black church.

Robert Dorgan, 56, who also went by ‘Roberta Esposito,’ took his own life after he fired shots inside the Lynch Arena in Pawtucket, Rhode Island on Monday afternoon, killing his son Aidan Dorgan, 23, and his ex-wife Rhonda, 52.

Dorgan’s in-laws, Linda and Gerald Dorgan, both 75, and her friend Thomas Geruoso, 54, an assistant principal at Shea High School in Pawtucket also remain in critical condition at a local hospital following the rampage.

While investigating the shooting, authorities discovered that Dorgan was the biological father of Kevin Colantonio, 37, who tried to burn down the Shiloh Gospel Temple Ministries in North Providence two years ago.

North Providence Police Chief Alfredo Ruggiero Jr. told the Boston Globe that investigators made the connection on Wednesday and reviewed an interview they conducted with Colantonio’s mother, Marlyse Dunbar, following his arrest.

She told officers at the time that Dorgan – who has a Nazi-inspired tattoo on his bicep and voiced his support for ‘white power’ – was Colantonio’s father. 

The development came as police released images of firearms they recovered after conducting a search of Dorgan’s apartment, work locker, and storage unit.

The images depicted a sawed-off shotgun and AR-15 style rifle seized from the storage unit. Two handguns were recovered at the scene of the massacre.

People close with the family have since told WPRI that Dorgan influenced his son’s dangerous fixation on race. 

The son even scrawled white nationalist messages in notebooks seized by federal investigators following the fire on February 11, 2024. 

One disturbing message read: ‘Hunt them down gun everyone down that isn’t white, if one is white spread the gospel. Always gibe our bloodline a chance.’

‘Eliminate Rich Snob global Elite Pastors, burn churches down to the ground, when congregants move to [the] next church, do the same,’ read another of Colantonio’s messages.

Authorities said Colantonio bought a Bic lighter and $10 worth of gas from a local gas station before walking over to the Shiloh Gospel Temple Ministries, a Pentecostal church with about 100, mostly black, members.

Once at the church, Colantonio poured gasoline around its base and ignited five different fires, all of which were quickly extinguished – but not before causing significant damage to the church.

‘Due to the damage, church congregants were prevented from enjoying their free exercise of religious beliefs as church services were canceled until the church could be reopened,’ federal prosecutors said. 

Just one day after the blaze, court documents showed Colantonio privately messaged an unidentified family member and said no one in the community cared about the arson.

In those messages, he called the church ‘Atheist God mockers,’ adding: ‘They’re busy dancing around collecting money.’

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Transgender shooter who murdered ex-wife and son at hockey game had Nazi tattoo

The transgender gunman who killed his ex-wife and son at a high school hockey match apparently had a Nazi-inspired tattoo on his arm. 

Robert Dorgan, 56, who also went by the name ‘Roberta Esposito,’ was seen showing off a large SS symbol on his bicep in a photo posted to his social media pages, where he would often voice his support for ‘white power.’

The symbol was frequently used in Nazi Germany propaganda and signage.

In the center of Dorgan’s tattoo was a white skull and crossbones with glowing red eyes, known as Totenkopf or the ‘death’s head’ skull, which was used as a symbol of a branch of the SS ‘whose purpose was to guard the concentration camps,’ according to the Anti-Defamation League. 

The symbol is now often used by neo-Nazis and other white supremacists ‘because of its importance to the SS.’

Dorgan also had a history of spreading antisemitic and racist rhetoric on social media, even posting an anti-Asian slur as he replied to a video praising Adolf Hitler just one day before he opened fire at the Lynch Arena in Pawtucket, Rhode Island.

That same day, Dorgan also threatened to go ‘BESERK.’

His son, Aidan Dorgan, 23, was killed alongside his mother Rhonda, 52, and three other family members were left critically injured in the rampage on Monday, which came to an end when the gunman took his own life.

The tragedy occurred just feet from where Rhonda’s youngest son Colin Dorgan, 17, was competing on the ice.

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Chilling warning signs before ‘narcissistic’ trans dad ‘shot ex-wife and kids’ in hockey game bloodbath

The gunman who killed two people at a youth hockey game in Rhode Island appeared to post ominous warnings in the days before the deadly shooting.

An online profile that appears to belong to Robert Dorgan, 56, who also went by the name ‘Roberta Esposito‘, shared an eerie video of a woman running on a treadmill while loading ammunition magazines into a handgun and aiming. 

In another post on X, a profile for ‘Roberta Dorgano’ threatened to go ‘BERSERK’ while defending transgender Congresswoman Sarah McBride.

‘Keep bashing us,’ they wrote Sunday. ‘But do not wonder why we Go BESERK.’

Just hours after the shooting, a woman who claimed to be Dorgan’s daughter claimed the gunman ‘has mental health issues’. 

‘He shot my family, and he’s dead now,’ the woman told WCVB.

Dorgan’s wife, Rhonda, who was reportedly killed in the shooting, claimed on divorce documents that her husband displayed ‘narcissistic and personality disorder traits’. 

Pawtucket Police Chief Tina Goncalves said Monday night that Dorgan entered the Dennis M Lynch Arena to watch a high school hockey match. The attacker then opened fire at around 2.30pm. 

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Rhode Island Transgender Hockey Game Shooter Identified — Replied to Alex Jones About Trans People Going ‘Fkn Berserk’ Day Before Family Massacre

The transgender man who shot and killed three members of his family during a high school hockey game at Lynch Arena in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, on Monday has been identified as Robert K. Dorgan, 56, of North Providence, who went by the name “Roberta Esposito,” or “Roberta Dorgano,” and identified as a “woman.”

Dorgan was the parent of a player on the North Providence High School team.

The biological male posted on X the day before the shooting, writing to Alex Jones about how low tolerance for transgender people is why “trans ppl go fkn BERSERK.”

Dorgan wrote, “stfu Alex dont be so butt hurtt over somebody different. then wonder why trans ppl go fkn BERSERK,” in response to Jones calling a photo of Rep. Tim McBride, who is also transgender, “so creepy.”

The killer had also replied to actor Kevin Sorbo, saying, “Keep bashing us. but do not wonder why we Go BERSERK.”

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