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March 26, 2025 - Dan Bidondi Show
53:24
RI 2nd Amendment Rally To Stop Governor’s Gun Ban
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Time Text
Brenda.
If you cold and sick, hide.
All right, everybody.
We're going to start with the Pledge of Allegiance.
Everybody, look to your right.
I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
All right, we're going to start off with Brenda Jacobs.
Brenda does a lot of work.
She's a great partner between us and her and Mike Dennon and all the groups, Federated, Rhode Island Revolver, Rhode Island Secondary Coalition, we've got Rhode Island Gun Rights, Rhode Island's Far Arms Owners League, and all the clubs have always been behind all four organizations.
So I just want to say thank you to everybody, and you'll hear me running my mouth for the rest of the day.
but Brendan's going to start things off for you.
Okay.
Well, I have some exciting news to share with you today because we have joined forces with the League of Rhode Island Businesses and we are joining forces with a few other groups so that we will have funding and the funding is going to go towards knocking these progressives out of the house.
Our journey is just starting.
We're just getting rolling and let me tell you we have plans.
So we need you guys to disaffiliate, donate and engage with every single person you know because we are not done and we're not going to be done until they are gone.
Because we are sick and tired of being here every year after year after year hearing the same bills against us.
We're tired of being targeted as criminals because we are upstanding citizens and we are done with you messing with our rights.
Remember we're going to have to be here for the Senate hearings and then you're not going to be done hearing from us for quite a while because the election next November is going to be crucial.
You are disaffiliating because you need to be able to knock these people out in a primary.
We have a governor that only won by 3,300 votes.
Just the people in this building here today, we could have knocked him out of his seat.
We're going to get rid of them too and then we're going to work ourselves right up the ladder because we are done with this.
We are done with you affecting our business, our economy, and our state.
And as all of you know, trying to live in this state recently has been pretty difficult.
And you know what?
We are so happy that everybody is joining forces and I am so proud to be part of this community because all I see is wonderful people here in this room and business owners and moms and dads and aunts and uncles and grandparents and just hardworking people that are just done with how we are being treated in this state.
And I want to come across loud and clear.
are not stopping.
Every single one of you, I am.
Like I said, I am so proud to be part of this community.
And I'm going to hand the mic over to Will here because he has a lot to lose.
He has almost 25 families that you guys have dependent on you that will be out of jobs if any of these bills go through.
And to me, that's very emotional.
I do not want to see anybody lose their job because you want to pretend they're a criminal.
So enough with the agendas.
Time for us to take action.
So please disaffiliate, donate, and engage everybody you know because the next election we are going to send a message that's going to come across loud and clear because we're tired everybody.
Thank you, Brenda.
Are we live?
We're not live.
We're not live.
We're actually physically right here.
So my name is Will Worthy, and this is Andre Mendez.
Together we own Big Bear Hunting and Fishing in the Range.
With over a decade of experience in the firearms industry, we've worked very closely with customers, law enforcement, and responsible gun owners.
Today I'm voicing my concerns regarding the proposed assault weapons ban, which I believe is misguided, misinformed, and harmful to the residents of Rhode Island.
The language in this bill is deceiving and misleading to the public, creating confusion and unnecessary restrictions.
I question the expertise of those consulted during the bill's drafting and whether these individuals were even vetted for their knowledge and their accuracy.
This legislation fails to accurately target the root causes of violence instead of cast a wide net over law-abiding gun owners, imposing unjustifiable bans on firearms commonly used for sport, recreation, and self-defense.
A significant concern is the altered definition of semi-automatic, which is in the bill, which conflates different firearm types.
The critical flaw could lead to the banning of firearms that do not contribute to the issues that this bill seeks to address.
Moreover, several important features of modern firearms are misunderstood or misrepresented in this proposal.
Number one, the removal magazines.
These enhance the safety and maintenance, allowing quick clearing and adjustments without increasing any lethality.
Folding stocks.
These provide adaptability for various users, such as women and children or a big guy like me.
It improves the overall shooting experience.
Threaded barrels.
We've seen them now on shotguns.
They're designed for adding accessories.
These improvements give the versatility without making firearm more dangerous.
This one I love, the bayonet lug.
These are primarily symbolic and serve no tactical advantage in any modern usage.
Pistol grips, another ergonomical feature that enhances control and accuracy for shooters.
Barrel shrouds.
Safety features.
These are intended to protect the user's hands from heat.
No increase of danger.
All these features are designed for comfort, control, and safety, not for increasing lethality.
The bill lacking input from industrial, the industry experts fails to address the root causes of violence while unfairly targeting responsible gun owners.
Well, the critical question arises.
Why with these new bills would we make firearms less stable and controllable?
As the owner of a shooting range, I find that a very dangerous option.
Instead of improving safety and understanding, these measures could inadvertently compromise the very stability and control that responsible gun owners rely on.
Additionally, I may ask, why do our friends across the aisle, including groups like Mom Demand Action and the Rhode Island Coalition Against Gun Violence, not hold our Attorney General accountable for cleaning down the gun charges?
Why do they support Representative Knight, who has been known to free criminals from charges?
It doesn't feel as though their real interest is in saving lives.
Instead, it raises concerns about their commitment to genuine public safety.
I also want to highlight that Rhode Island is the second safest state in the country regarding gun violence.
If we truly want to address public safety, why aren't we focusing on the prosecuting of criminals to the fullest extent of the law?
And not imposing further restrictions on responsible gun owners, we should be tackling the real issues contributing to gun violence, such as illegal firearms trafficking and supporting mental health initiatives.
The broad overreach of this bill poses significant threat to my business, which employs 30 people and supports.
I urge law makers to reject the bill as it does not serve as the best interest of Rhode Islanders or public safety.
Instead of focusing on cosmetic features, let's address the underlying issues contributing to gun violence.
I thank you for your attention to this critical issue as we are all here together as one.
Thank you, Will.
Next up is, I have you here, Mike Chippendale, representative and leader.
Thank you all.
Thank you all so much for being here today.
When we are in these rooms and talking with our colleagues on these issues, it's important for us to know that you are here.
And man, are you here today.
We deal with a lot of very important things, issues in this building every single day.
But it's issues like this that seem to get more attention from people.
Will just really encapsulated what's going on here with the statistics of non-prosecutions of what we're targeting in this bill and what isn't being targeted.
And he hit the nail on the head.
Because as a member of this community, I know that we are not the problem.
We are a benefit to the community that we live in.
We're a benefit to the state that we live in.
We fund through our taxes on ammunition, on fishing gear, on firearms, on deer tags.
We fund the very natural resources that this entire state gets to enjoy.
And they are coming after us from a place of ignorance.
And when you ask them to support their bill and to explain their bill, they cannot.
Just today, I witnessed a conversation with one of the loudest spokespeople on this bill.
And that person could not explain what the bill does and ultimately just said, I'm here to support the cause.
The fraud.
Fraud!
You know, Ronald Reagan once said, it's not that our liberal friends are stupid, it's that they just know so much that isn't so.
And the people pushing this bill know so much that isn't so, and they think they know us.
Do they know us?
No!
They don't know us.
We will come back here as many times as we have to to defend our rights against people who have a fundamental lack of understanding what the Second Amendment is, why it's important and why we need it, and who have a guttural aversion to firearms because they get scared by them.
We are not going to give over our rights to a group of illogical people who are irrational and don't want to talk about the issue itself, which is violence.
Thank you all.
Thank you all for being here today.
Thank you all for keeping the faith.
And if you follow this community, you will be in good hands.
Thank you all, and God bless you.
All right, next we have, we have Representative Sherry Robbins.
Now it's a crying shame when we get to the point where our elected officials in this state, many, do not know the difference between a privilege and a right.
But you know something?
It is time for you to show them this is your state.
They are elected by you.
They're here to serve you.
And like Brenda had said, like this is the time to launch.
This is a consider yourselves a campaign, right?
We are all part of a campaign.
And it's time to make a difference and be loud and clear and let them know anything that is repugnant to the Constitution shall not stand.
Jason Knight's got to go.
Jason Knight's got to go!
Jason Knight's a couple of days.
All right, our next speaker today is Senator Gordon Rogers.
The guy that doesn't need a gun to protect themselves, as we all know.
I'm getting tired of hearing.
We don't want to take all your guns away from you, but every single year I come up here and they take a chip off that block every single year.
Magban, red flag, guns and schools.
It just continues and continues.
They will not stop.
One of them being considered, it's bullshit.
Yeah!
I want to thank everybody for showing up here.
I've been up here.
This is my seventh year, and I don't give an inch, and I never will give an inch.
We're talking about why do you need that for hundreds.
It's not about hunting.
It's nothing to do with hunting.
It's a constitutional right and we just don't get it.
What I don't like is when we pass bills like this and I ask a fellow Democrat, you know it's against the law, you know it's against the Rhode Island Constitution.
Why'd you do it?
And they hide under and say, well, that's not us for judge.
That's for the courts to judge.
And you know what?
Under this new administration and the Superior Court that's coming, they're going to judge it.
And we're going to say, I told you so.
Now we're going to bring up leader, Senator De La Cruz.
How are you guys doing?
And ladies?
I wish you didn't have to be here today, but I am very glad that you are, that you came out in force.
And I have to say, it's year after year that each and every one of you come out to defend and protect your rights.
And I appreciate you being here today.
You know, a lot of people look to pass laws, grant rights, but the Second Amendment is not a granted right.
It's an inherent right.
It belongs to you.
It is not given by man.
It is not given by government.
These are endowed to us, inalienable rights by our creator.
And so we're going to vote against every single one of these pieces of legislation.
We're going to do everything we can to stop it.
And don't give up like, you know, like we saw in the assassination attempt with Trump.
Fight!
No, Mr. Reckon.
Well, Senator Rattack.
Good afternoon, everyone.
Good afternoon.
What a crowd today.
I just drove up to the State House and I've never seen a line out the door that long.
That is great to have you here.
But let me tell you something.
I'm proud of my record to vote against all six anti-gun bills last year.
And what gets me is we call it an assault weapon.
Well, last year, in the year before, in the year before, 25 people on average have been killed on our highways by an assault weapon called an automobile.
Why don't we ban an automobile?
The same thing happens with baseball backs, knives.
We had a stabbing in Providence.
Those two people could have died.
Is that an assault weapon?
Well, let me tell you something.
We are going to fight and fight and fight because it's not right to pick on law-abiding citizens, gun owners who are not criminals, and they try to label us as criminals.
But what gets me, ladies and gentlemen, it's embarrassing where when you ask some of these individuals, they introduce these bills, you ask them, well, there's not a problem in Rhode Island because Rhode Island has the toughest laws in the land as far as guns.
They say, well, it's the problem in Florida or it's the problem in California.
Then go introduce that legislation in those states, not here in Rhode Island.
We're going to continue the fight.
Thank you.
I touched upon a couple things that were said earlier.
Rhode Island is the number two safest state in the country.
We should be number one.
Do you know why we're not number one?
Because Pina Norona will not try anyone that gets charged with a gun charge, any criminal, any John gangbanger.
What do they do?
They drop the gun charge.
He has six months probation to make a deal on whatever charge he has left.
Then he gets caught with a second firearm.
Again, they drop that charge.
He gets caught with a third one.
They drop that charge off.
Sooner or later, the Johnny Gangbanger commits murder.
So we have a lot of shootings going on in the streets.
And yes, we're number two.
We should be number one because the Attorney General does not want to do his job.
And that's a problem because his whole game has been trying to restrict our rights.
But he won't do his job and make Rhode Island safer.
And that's what these people don't understand up here.
We are not the issue.
Okay, we are not the issue.
They don't understand that at all.
So as someone brought up, this is the difference between organizations that try and do good and bad.
And I've said this in testimony.
So you have the moms against drunk drivers, right?
What do they go after?
Did they go after Cadillac?
No, they went after the driver.
Okay?
They've done a great job.
And the reason why I mentioned this is because this is close to my heart.
1975, I lost my father, a Navy recruiter and a Marine recruiter, killed by a drunk driver in Boston.
He got 10 years suspended, sentence, two years without his license.
In 1979, they didn't have the laws they have now.
But mom's the man, moms against drunk drivers, took that and they went and they changed laws, not to go against the law-abiding citizen, the person that doesn't drive drunk, not against the tool, which is the Cadillac, to go after the drunk driver.
And that's what they should be doing.
They should be going after the criminals.
They should be dragging Narona up here and saying, why aren't you doing your job?
They shouldn't be inflicting more handcuffs on Narona as far as not to give him any legal room to let a third-time offender on a gun charge let go.
That's what we need.
That's what Rhode Island needs to make our citizens safer.
So we also have Jake from the National Shooting Sports Foundation.
We also have Darren Gones from the NRA.
A lot of people will say in his defense, you know, what's the NRA doing for Rhode Island?
Well, let me tell you what the NRA is doing for Rhode Island.
So right now we have two cases going right now.
We have one in federal court.
It's O'Neill versus Narona.
He denied my carry permit after we won the stun guns.
Another case, O'Neill versus Norona.
So what we did was we applied to the NRA to help as far as funding the lawsuits that we have that are active.
We also have a case in Superior Court on DEM because DEM thinks that they can supersede Rhode Island law and not allow to carry on the parks that we have or while we're hunting.
So that case is in Superior Court, so we are working hard.
But the NRA is actually, we submitted all our paperwork and everything, and they're actually going to help us out.
It's been approved, and they're going to send us $75,000 to Rhode Island.
Also, Jake from SFS has been really generous.
They've also helped out funding our grassroots campaigns.
And, you know, we have two great organizations that are working hard for Rhode Island.
So right now, I'm going to ask who wants to go first, fellas?
Jake from National Shooting Sports Foundation.
Thank you.
First of all, I've been in this building probably 18 to 20 years, and I appreciate you guys taking the time out of your day to come down here and fight.
NSSF is a national organization.
We represent manufacturers and retailers.
We actually took over the magazine ban, the appeal on that with Will from Big Bear.
And we will also, if this goes any further, we will also be taking on any litigation here in Rhode Island with respect to the quote-unquote assault weapons ban.
But as everyone else has said, think about this for a second.
In Rhode Island, over a 13-year time period, two homicides were attributed to a rifle.
Two.
That's 0.6%.
Where is there a problem?
There is no problem.
They continually want to come after law-abiding gun owners, and we appreciate you showing up in full force.
It's been a couple years, and you guys are back, and I love to see the yellow shirts.
NSSF is here for you, and we will continue to battle for your rights here in Rhode Island.
Thank you.
Next we have Darren Golins, our lobbyist in Rhode Island from the NRA.
Thanks, Mike.
It's good to see everybody again.
It's my ass, but it's not good to see everyone because we have to do this every single year.
And it's unfortunately the price that we all have to pay to preserve our freedoms, freedoms that some others paid an even deeper price to pay for.
So it's the least we can do.
My message today is going to be pretty simple.
It's you got to show up.
Today was a good first step.
You showed up.
And we've had other years where people have showed up.
But you know when the most important time to show up is on election day or right before election day, dropping your ballot in the box, right?
I was thinking to myself, like Jake, I've been here for almost with NRA for 20 years, and I've had Rhode Island for 15 years, and we do this each and every year.
And I thought to myself, what makes all of this stop?
What makes us stop having to take days off from work to come up here and do this?
There's only one thing that makes it stop.
It's not litigation.
It's showing up.
And to show you the importance of that, just last night we got a reminder.
In Pennsylvania, there was a special election for a Senate seat.
And Republicans had a fantastic year last fall, picking up a U.S. Senate seat, a couple congressional seats, had a fantastic year.
Trump carried the state, but what happened in that special election district last night was unacceptable.
In a race that Trump won by 15 points in a district, the Republican lost last night.
And they lost because before election day, there were 8,000 ballots that the Democrats turned in early and absentee.
Republicans turned in like 500.
It was a low turnout race in a special election.
My point there is: you gotta turn out.
You gotta turn up.
Who in this room thinks if you go in the committee room tonight and we win this debate on assault weapons, that this is gonna stop?
We're gonna win a debate and it's over.
Raise your hand if you think that's gonna happen.
It's not gonna happen.
I don't see a single hand.
There is one thing that stops it.
It's showing up and sending them packing, looking for a new career.
That's the only thing that makes any of this stop.
We can't rest our laurels on litigation.
Yes, we're successful on litigation, but that takes time.
And the surest, quickest way to make it all stop is to show up.
And congratulations to yourselves for taking that first step and showing up today.
Thank you very much.
So Darren covered a little bit as far as like the mail ballots and everything.
So, Brenda mentioned it earlier as far as the disaffiliation.
Listen, the disaffiliation is really important.
We can control a lot with a disaffiliation.
We need our numbers to grow up.
They're going pretty well now, but we need everybody to disaffiliate.
Okay?
I need you to go to rhodeislandgunrights.com.
Rhode Islandgunrights.com.
They're doing phenomenal work over there.
Get in there, see what they have on their website, and also disaffiliate.
Our next speaker is Rep. Qua Troutry.
Thank you.
I just want to really thank everybody.
A lot of, you know, everything's been said.
The numbers are all out.
Facts and figures are all out.
But I want to thank everybody.
Third floor, second floor, this floor, the bottom floor.
The line outside.
The line outside to the street down to the corner.
I stuck my head inside the hearing room all yellow, a sea of yellow in there.
So thank everybody for that.
And, you know, it's just absolutely amazing that such a large group, right?
Such a huge group is so disrespected and so disregarded in this state.
Okay?
And you guys are making it happen.
I really, really appreciate everybody coming out here.
This group isn't the one getting paid to be out here, like the other side.
That's right.
So you're giving up a lot.
You know, you're giving up some of your work time, your family time, and everything else like I do, like we all do.
So thank you again.
I appreciate it.
Representative Sherry Roberts wants to add a small statement.
Sorry, I don't want to sound repetitive, but I have said before that they would be out to take our weapons at some point.
This was many years ago, right?
The power is absolutely in your hands.
This does not have to continue.
I'm just trying to drill that in.
I don't want to sound repetitive, but this is so important because even if they don't succeed this year, they will continue until they achieve their goals.
So we cannot let up.
We must be merciless like they have been to us.
Okay?
Elected officials can only do so much, and we are outnumbered greatly.
We need your help.
We cannot do anything without your help.
You are the power.
Okay, how powerful we are depends on what you give us.
We need your help.
Okay?
So our next speakers are from the League of Businesses.
League of Raleigh Businesses.
I work on airplanes, so I'm a little hard here.
But anyway, so our first guy is going to talk is Dave Leveck.
We met a couple of months ago, had long conversations.
guy, great supporter, and he's a true leader.
I know this fight for being a restaurant owner, and during COVID, it was It was unbearable, the shit that we had to go through.
How many here have already disaffiliated by a show of hands?
Not enough.
The most important thing we can do is disaffiliate.
And people say, why?
Because you can go to the next primary and you can vote the girl or the guy or the politician out or get somebody elected.
I was one of those guys that I'm never leaving the Republican Party.
I would never disaffiliate.
I did.
I'm proud to do it, and I posted it.
You got to get everybody to do it.
Not just yourselves, but your friends, your family, your brothers, your sisters, your kids.
I did the same.
We have the power to decide who is the next governor, not them.
We have the power to decide who sits in this house.
And the more I look around, looks like a place that some of us might want to work very soon.
I'm new as a gun owner.
Just this year, both guns I bought will be banned.
I belong to gun clubs in the past, shooting, reserve, elite, different places.
I've always been a supporter of rights and the Constitution.
The one thing I see that happens, not only in my restaurant industry, but the same thing I'm hearing here on the floor.
This is awesome today.
But tomorrow, we go home.
We don't support that group.
We don't support that pack.
We don't give to this one.
I already gave $25.
I already gave.
I'll make the call tomorrow.
The one thing I hear from the leaders in this house: we do not give them the ammunition to stand up behind them to defend them so they can fight back for us.
We leave them out there.
Maybe we go to one campaign.
Maybe two.
Maybe we call.
Maybe we don't.
It can't be a let up.
It's got to be constant every day, day in, day out.
If we do that, just this gun group of a few hundred thousand people have the ability to determine what's going to happen in the state of Rhode Island.
I always hear from everybody: Rhode Island will never change.
And in my restaurants, I'm always promoting the right thing to do based on the Constitution.
Rhode Island will never change.
It's not going to change.
Same old.
We can't do anything.
It can change.
We got Trump behind us.
We got a huge tailwind.
If we take it, we win.
We can determine how this happens.
We have the ability to control the budget next year if we get just another dozen or so people up on up in the state house elected.
But you can't stop now.
Every group that you know donate 25 bucks to.
Each single one of them.
Every single senator, rep, make the call, make the email get out there.
Show up when they have these hearings.
You don't have to go to every one of them.
You go today, you go next week.
The problem is we don't show up.
And when we, you know, how argument this guy, this guy is also part of the League of Rhode Island restaurants.
It was his idea to start it.
When they went after him during COVID to shut him down, I said, I got to go meet the guy.
I showed up in his restaurant, Senator Ailero, in North Providence.
And that's where I met the guy.
And I defended him.
I stood up with him.
And we got the governor to shut down the health debate and not trace, not track this guy anymore.
You guys can do it if we're united.
If you don't unite and you go home tonight and you forget about this thinking, hey, we just had six, seven, ten thousand people show up.
We got it covered.
We will lose.
The disaffiliation, in my opinion, is the most important part.
They're looking at the numbers.
If there were three people, Shane, Dave, and Mike, that disaffiliated, we got no leverage.
If 10,000 people, if 12,000 people disaffiliate, they're all going to be in a panic.
We have to do it.
It's not today, not tomorrow, not next month.
It's got to be done right now.
You all got cell phones.
RIGunRights.com.
Go on it.
It's so easy to click through.
Got to have the license number with you.
Put it in.
Get it done.
Thank you guys for your support.
All right, our next speaker is Shane Pichet.
I met Shane the other day.
He's on crutches today.
I don't know what happened, but I can tell you about this after I listened to him talk for about an hour and 15 minutes.
And then we had a conversation.
I think he'd scare Mike Tyson.
I'm not even kidding.
He's got the heart of a lion, this guy.
And he's so driven, it's unbelievable.
So, Shane, come on up, buddy.
Good afternoon, everybody.
I don't know how I got a follow-up on my first of all.
Forgive me that I am a little hobbled today.
I've recently turned 40, and I decided to play basketball last night.
So we got a little ankle issue, but that's okay.
It only gets worse, right?
But, you know, I was thinking about it this morning as I woke up and realized that I couldn't walk.
Said to my wife, I said, You got to do me a favor.
Go to CBS and get me some crutches.
So after she door dashed it, because she knows how to do that, I don't, but she got me some crutches.
She said, well, you're going to go to the, you know, you're going to go to the doctor, you're going to get it looked at.
And I said, no, I can't.
She said, why?
I said, well, I got to go to the state house.
She says, are you kidding me?
She says, you got to go get that thing looked at.
I said, no, you don't understand.
I thought about it because when I first got out, I said, maybe I can't go.
But then I thought to myself, as I reflected, and I said, if I didn't go, then I wouldn't be who I am.
Okay?
You can't hear me?
Is that better?
All right.
So as I thought to myself, how could I not go?
The thought occurred to me.
If I had to crawl over glass up the stairs to get there, I have to get there.
So there's a lot of people who've said a lot of great things, and I don't want to sit up here and reiterate all the points like Dave made about disaffiliate.
Okay, you have to donate, guys.
I know it's things we don't want to do it.
But these people in this building, they understand money.
And if you want to defeat them, that's what it takes.
And when you show them that you're unified and you can literally put your money where your mouth is, that's how you get them to move.
Okay?
Now, the next part of that everyone's talking about is engage.
This is already happening.
You're here.
Give them all a round of applause that are out in that background.
to know you're here.
As we look around this magnificent building, as my friend Daisy, it's a shame that some of these people get to spend their days here.
I'd love to spend a day in a building like this.
Look at that.
Here more often.
We need to have a presence here constantly.
This is the people's house.
Okay?
And we need to make it clear to those that sit in the chambers, they have to be reminded they were elected to represent us.
We don't work for them.
They work for us.
And even if we didn't vote for them, and even if we didn't donate to them, if they sit in that seat, they have to represent us just as much as they represented the people that elected and voted for them.
And we, from here on out, are going to hold them accountable.
We had a meeting on Thursday last week.
We put it together in a couple of days.
It was at Brute Awakening in Warwick.
Many of you might have been there.
Anybody go to that meeting?
Was anybody there?
Thank you for coming.
I made a little statement in that meeting, and I'm going to reiterate it today because I think it's very important.
You know, this country was founded because a very small group decided that they were going to fight back against tyranny.
Now, if you look around here, see this?
By the way, we outnumber them at least 10 to 1 right now.
Easy.
Okay?
If we decide, if the people decide you will no longer control the people's house, guess what?
You will no longer control the people's house.
Shortly after the revolution, before the country was even formed, before we, there's a famous interview that was done with our first commander-in-chief, a general named George Washington.
You may have heard of him.
George Washington was asked a question.
They said to him, General, how did you do it?
How did you defeat the greatest military on the face of the earth at the time with a group of rebels that were, they had no resources, they were sick, they were tired.
How did you defeat the Brits?
I read this probably about a little over 20 years ago.
It's every day.
It stays with me.
It burned into my head, burned right here every day.
George Washington said, what separates the American from anyone else on earth is that he is going to die on his feet before he will live on his knees.
And I want to make it very clear to everybody in this house, everybody in those chambers.
We, the people, will not kneel.
We're not going to kneel to Joe Shikachi.
We're not going to kneel to Donny Ruggiero.
We're not going to kneel to Dan McKee.
We're not going to deal to Donald Trump.
If we kneel to anyone, it's Almighty God.
Amen.
So I'm going to let this, I want to leave it with this.
When you look around this room today and you see the sea of yellow, there's a pretty historic flag.
It's a yellow flag.
Some of you have it on your shirt.
I'm sure some of it's flying somewhere.
And on that flag is embossed a rattlesnake with a very simple statement.
Don't tread on me.
I want to encourage all of our elected officials.
I want them to go back and study the meaning of that flag.
Because today, as we stand before them in our house, let them know, see this?
This is the rattle.
This is the rattle.
This is your warning.
I suggest they heed the warning.
guys.
Frank's Kosho, where are you at?
He's hiding.
There he is.
All right.
We're going to have Andre speak, and then I'm going to throw up Frank.
So, Andre, it's all you, son.
You're going to speak.
All right, I guess I'm speaking.
We thought he was my sidekick today.
All right.
How is everyone doing today?
Good?
Nice.
Well, as you can tell, I wasn't prepared, but I guess I'll shoot from the hip.
I'm just kidding.
I'm not shooting.
Relax.
It's a figure of speech down there.
But listen, about eight years ago, I got involved in the industry, and I always love talking about this.
You can't hear me, right?
Sorry, I got you.
I got you.
Hopefully, there's no flu on this thing.
So, about years ago, I got involved in the industry and, you know, kind of an outsider, I'd say, but the thing that always amazed me was the people.
The Second Amendment community is by far one of the most loving, one of the most caring community in this country.
Time and time again, you guys have come together for raffles, for fundraisers.
When we personally had a fire at our building, everyone rallied together and made sure that the business was able to come back.
There is, you know, as fierce and, you know, as fierce as we can be, we can equally be as loving.
And I just wanted to point that out today.
I understand promotions are high.
We're all here fighting for our rights and trying to make our voices heard.
But at the same time, I want people to understand as well that the community is a very, very loving community.
We love our country a lot.
So that being said, thank you for being here.
And I guess I'll turn it back.
So right now we have Frank's co-show.
Coalition.
He works hard.
He's an attorney for us.
He's endless hours in the office by himself.
I always have to apologize to him because I'm not a lawyer, Frank, but I'll get you coffee because he just, he's 24-7.
So give a big round of applause for Frank Skosho.
Good afternoon, everyone.
Thank you for showing up at the State House today.
It's very impressive to see a sea of yellow on all of the floors, outside of the building, and all the way down around the street waiting to come in.
This is the movement that the anti-gun people need to see and need to appreciate.
any of these issues today.
Even though we're at the Statehouse today, this fight needs to continue after today.
You need to make sure that you have disaffiliated.
You need to make sure that you are contacting your senators and reps and telling them you're not going to put up with this.
I can't tell you how many people I talk to in the firearms community and I say, have you talked to your senator, have you talked to your representative, and they say, I'm not sure who they are.
Very easy to find out.
You can go onto the internet, find out who your senator and rep is, call them up, and tell them not to support any of the gun legislation to make sure to protect your Second Amendment rights.
A politician's number one job is to get re-elected.
And if they don't have your support, they will be out.
Next time you go to the ballot box, remember, the person that you're going to be voting for needs to be somebody that protects your Second Amendment rights.
If not, you're not voting for them.
It's that simple.
Just want to make sure all the people in here that have come out today to support us, to support everything we're doing, want to make sure that you're aware of this.
A lot of the anti-gun people that are here representing us, the senators and representatives, a lot of them did not have a candidate in the last election.
That's what you have to realize.
Everyone in this room has the ability to run for office or support somebody who's running for office who's pro-gun.
A lot of the problems we have is we don't get good people out to run for office.
We've had people, anti-gun people, on their second and third term unopposed.
That is completely unacceptable to securing your Second Amendment rights.
Make sure you get involved even after today.
Try to get involved.
Call up an organization.
Go to your local gun club.
Stop talking to your friends and family and say, how do we make a difference?
How do we get involved?
And how do we make sure that this doesn't continue to happen?
Thank you very much for allowing me to speak.
Again, it's great to see so many people up the state house.
Let's continue to fight and tell these people we're not going to let go of our Second Amendment rights.
So I just want to add a few things today.
Listen, we can't go home and take a nap.
There's no time for sleeping.
We all must wake up.
We must do what we have to do.
I want you to go back to your gun clubs.
I'm going to start making the rounds again with a hard drive that gives them all of the voter rolls in Rhode Island.
And I want every member of their gun club for them to look to see if that member is a registered voter or if he registered to vote.
We have to change.
We have to change the way we do.
We cannot keep our eyes closed.
People will complain.
They'll call us and they'll say this and that.
You look them up on the voter roll.
They're not listed.
They're not even registered to vote.
That has to change.
I'd like to say one word for a guy that's worked pretty hard.
When I mentioned about the gun charges being dropped by the Attorney General, that is not a lie.
Dan Kessler, are you here today, brother?
Dan Kessler has a handful of guys that went over the gun reporting from the Attorney General.
He has to turn it over to the Senate and the House every year.
And Dan Kessler goes through it with his guys and he comes up with anywhere from 75 to 80 percent of multiple gun charges dropped.
And that's why the criminals are back on the street and we're having murders in our state of Rhode Island.
So I want you to make Dan.
Thank you.
Thank you, Dan Kelso.
Appreciate you from Parabellum.
I appreciate all you guys coming out today.
It's a great showing.
We have to continue.
We have to continue to fight.
Thank you and God bless.
Hey, Mike, can I say two words?
Can I say two is important?
Not even a minute, man.
No, I won't.
Trust me.
Trust me, I promise you that.
If I don't, then you don't have to let me speak again.
It's important.
I promise you, man.
All right.
Hey, Karen, could you hold this for me?
I'm holding this for my friend.
Just hold her for a second.
Do you know what?
Dan.
He has a radio.
Come on.
And can I have your attention, everybody?
Before you go, hold on, guys.
Listen.
Listen, history repeats itself, and we live in the state of Reale.
We know the rebellion of St. Raleigh and everything else.
But this is very important, guys.
250 years ago, as of April 19th, next week, and next two weeks from now, April 19th is when the British tried to go take the guns from our citizens back up 53 miles from here north in Lexington, Concord, Massachusetts, right?
We're facing the same tyranny that they faced 250 years ago today.
So, guys, I'm just asking you guys: we need to step up again.
We need to tell these people: listen, we are not going to go quietly tonight.
You know what I mean?
Thomas Johnson said, Liberty is eternal vigilance.
We must be willing to fight and do what we have to do, just like Thomas Jefferson and all these guys did what they had to do.
Captain John Parker, Paul Revere did what they had to do.
We need to do what we have to do to defend our liberties.
So, God bless and let's continue to fight.
Thank you.
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