In tiny Exeter, Rhode Island the battle for a recall of town council members is going down to the wire. The council members voted to outsource the town’s concealed carry permitting, something that is against the law in Rhode Island, putting Exeter citizens’ rights at risk. The Wall Street Journal details the election here.
A sleepy corner of rural New England has become the latest flashpoint in the nationwide debate over gun control.
On Saturday—coincidentally the one-year anniversary of the massacre in Newtown, Conn., that left 27 people dead—Exeter, R.I., will vote on whether to boot four of the five members of the town council from office.
Supporters of Exeter’s recall election say the members ignored their will by trying to change the permitting process for carrying concealed weapons, a move they say could make it harder to carry handguns outside the home. The council members argue that they were only trying to improve public safety by beefing up background checks for permit seekers.
“My personal belief is those four are antigun, plain and simple,” said Letitia Davis, an Exeter resident who helped organize the recall effort. “Our rights are at issue here—our Second Amendment rights as well as our rights to be listened to by our elected leaders.”
