Latest news with #JasonKnight
Yahoo
21 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
R.I. House approves assault-style weapons ban, sending high-profile legislation to the Senate
Rep. Jason Knight, a Barrington Democrat, defends his bill to ban assault-style weapons during debate on the House floor on June 5, 2025. (Photo by Christopher Shea/Rhode Island Current) The Rhode Island House of Representatives on Thursday approved much-anticipated legislation banning the sale and manufacturing of a range of semiautomatic weapons in Rhode Island starting in July 2026. The 43-28 vote came after nearly five hours of debate and nine failed attempts by House Republicans to change the bill sponsored by Rep. Jason Knight, a Barrington Democrat. All 10 Republicans voted against the bill, along with 17 Democrats and the chamber's lone independent. 'We have an obligation to protect the community we live in,' Knight said on the House floor. 'Mass shootings are a real problem — it could happen here and we have a chance to minimize the chances.' Twenty-three state representatives voted against the assault-style weapons ban bill. Opponents included all 10 chamber Republicans: House Minority Leader Mike Chippendale, Richard Fascia, Marie Hopkins, George Nardone, Brian Newberry, Christopher Paplauskas, David Place, Robert Quattrocchi, Sherry Roberts and Paul Santucci Another 17 Democrats also opposed the ban: Samuel Azzinaro, Jacquelyn Baginski, David Bennett, Stephen Casey, Gregory Costantino, Megan Cotter, Deborah Fellela, Brian Kennedy, Charlene Lima, Thomas Noret, William O'Brien, Ramon Perez, Robert Phillips, Earl Read, Patricia Serpa, and Joseph Solomon. Also opposed was Rep. Jon Brien, the only independent. In introducing Knight's legislation to the floor, House Judiciary Chairman Robert Craven, a North Kingstown Democrat, said the legislation is justified if just one life is saved by banning assault-style weapons. 'One of the things I learned as a prosecutor many years ago was there's no undoing someone being dead,' Craven said. 'There's no retreat from that — dead is dead.' But opponents argued the bill's language is too broad and would not reduce gun violence. Many said it would criminalize responsible gun owners. 'This piece of legislation's true goal, as evidenced by its language, is clouded at best and disingenuous at worst,' said Rep. Arthur Corvese, a North Providence Democrat. The legislation, which was already revised before advancing out of committee earlier this week, would prohibit the sale and manufacturing of assault-style shotguns, handguns, and rifles beginning July 1, 2026. Weapons are defined as any semiautomatic firearm that has the ability to accept a detachable magazine and has at least one attachment such as stocks, pistol grips, and barrel shrouds. Certain .22 caliber rimfire rifles and Olympic-style target pistols would still be allowed. Assault-style firearms purchased before July 2026 would also be exempt from the legislation, along with weapons passed down through family. Violators of the proposed ban would face up to 10 years in prison, a fine of up to $10,000 and forfeiting their assault-style weapons. Gun owners could voluntarily register their weapons with police to receive a certificate of possession — a provision that has drawn the ire of opponents. 'If you are found to be in possession of one of these firearms and do not have this voluntary certificate you are handcuffed, you are printed, you are booked, you are arraigned, you go to pre-trial, you go to a trial,' said House Minority Leader Mike Chippendale, a Foster Republican. 'After maybe two years you can provide proof you owned the firearm before July 1, 2026.' Chippendale also argued that the bill's language is unclear on where gun owners could use their grandfathered weapons, saying that it would bar hunting. Rep. Joseph McNamara, a Warwick Democrat, said weapons subject to the proposed ban are not meant for hunting. 'If you need an AK-47 to hunt ducks, maybe you should take up bowling,' he said. House Republicans introduced nine floor amendments to address their issues with Knight's bill, but each were rejected. Democratic Reps. Mia Ackerman of Cumberland, John Edwards of Tiverton, Raymond Hull of Providence, and Alex Marszalkowski of Cumberland were not present for the vote. Rep. Kathleen Fogarty, a South Kingstown Democrat, voted by proxy in favor of the bill. The policy now rests with the Senate for consideration. Companion legislation introduced by Sen. Lou DiPalma, a Middletown Democrat, has 23 additional sponsors, including Senate President Valarie Lawson. DiPalma's bill was heard by the Senate Committee on Judiciary on May 14, where it remains under review. Three Democrats who serve on the committee voiced opposition to the proposal during the initial hearing on DiPalma's bill. Senate Majority Leader Frank Ciccone, a Providence Democrat and federal firearms dealer, has also said he does not support banning assault-style weapons as drafted. Knight's changes have not swayed his stance, Ciccone said in an interview Thursday. Lawson remains committed to seeing the proposal hit the Senate floor, chamber spokesperson Greg Paré said in an email. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
BBC News
2 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
'Norwich have done to us what we did to Oxford'
We asked you for your views on Liam Manning leaving his role as Bristol City's head coach to join Championship rivals Norwich you for all your replies and here is a selection of the thoughts of Robins - Disappointed to lose him and felt we were starting to build something. Hope the likes of Jason Knight and Mark Sykes don't follow him out the - Good luck to him but not sad to see him go. His football was pretty stale - sideways and backwards. In the second leg of the play-offs at 3-0 down you would think he would put three up front and have a go! Rob Edwards to come in for - I think it's a mix of emotions for everyone involved. Last season was a complete rollercoaster, both on and off the field. I would've liked to see Manning have another season at it. However, I respect his decision and that of his family, and I'd like to thank him for all his hard work. He definitely brought belief and excitement back into the - Can't complain as Norwich have done to us what we did to Oxford! Wish Liam all the best, especially after all he has been through this - The fact we've had our manager taken by a team that finished seven places below us is awful. The fact the Norwich board have managed to convince LM that he'll be better backed than he will be at City is disgraceful on our for Lansdown to either put his hand in his pocket and really build around Jason Knight and the new manager or sell the - Personally, I've not got a problem with his departure as the hierarchy can't see his potential. They should have given him the financial backing needed to push on from a pretty good gave the club what they asked for but has been let down by them. Next up? For me it has to be Gary O' - Can't blame him for leaving when you have an owner who won't give him a budget to move the team forward. He performed a miracle to get us into the play-offs. Norwich will back Manning and have a stronger squad and Manning knows that.
Irish Examiner
3 days ago
- General
- Irish Examiner
Ireland's Jason Knight 'relaxed' about prospect of Premier League football
Jason Knight has already been on holiday. The midfielder will squeeze in another once this week's international window closes and yet football could well force itself back into the conversation again before the English club season returns. Still only 24, the Dubliner played 150 times for Derby County before moving to Bristol City two years ago. Already captain at Ashton Gate, he could hardly have done more during a season just gone that produced 51 appearances, three goals, as many assists and ten yellow cards. Named player of the year by his club, his teammates and by the supporters, he opted for humility when describing the campaign merely as a 'progression', but Ireland assistant John O'Shea got it right when suggesting that other clubs must be taking notice. The man himself is playing it cool. 'I've had a good season, I'm enjoying myself at Bristol, but you are right: I want to be ambitious. I want to play in the top division, but I'm relaxed. If it's now or in the future, that will be. I've just got to keep performing well to get to that point.' One of the few Championship players in the Ireland squad this week due to Heimir Hallgrimsson's decision to rest players subject to that league's heavy workload, Knight has already played 279 games of senior football between the club and international games. It's nearly six years since his first run with Derby. John Egan spoke on the 'Second Captains' podcast recently about his regret at having played through the pain barrier to the extent he did, and of the consequences arising from that. Knight played in every game for his club last season, from mid-August through to mid-May. This is the job. It does beg the question as to how much football is too much football in an era where more and more is being asked of professional players. And there may be no league more brutal in its incessant demands than the twice-a-week every week second tier in England. Knocks and niggles are par for the course in that sort of environment but if there is a line that shouldn't be crossed when it comes to playing through injury then what might Knight's be? 'If the leg isn't off, I suppose.' A vocal presence on the field and in the dressing-room, he was one among that batch of youngsters promoted to senior international football in one go, or close enough, by Stephen Kenny and he has long since gone about stepping up to a type of leadership role with Ireland. Hallgrimsson has already spoken about the benefit that he can reap from this wholesale injection of youth, and Knight agrees that there is a sense of training wheels having been relegated to the shed ahead of a new World Cup qualifying campaign in the autumn. 'There's probably eight, nine, ten of us that have come in at the same time and now we have 20-plus caps [each] so that is only going to be the to the benefit of the team and the country. The performances have to back that up as well, and the results. 'That's what we are going to have to try and do coming in to September.'
Irish Times
3 days ago
- Lifestyle
- Irish Times
Jason Knight glad to seize any Ireland opportunity despite long season
It can't be the easiest of tasks trying to sound full of the joys about international friendlies at the end of a long, wearying club season, but Jason Knight managed to achieve the feat in Abbotstown on Tuesday where the Republic of Ireland squad trained ahead of Friday's game against Senegal in Dublin and another away to Luxembourg next week. 'I could be in Albufeira,' the Bristol City captain smiled when it was put to him that sun, sea and sand might be a more attractive option than a training session on the outskirts of Blanchardstown at this time of year. 'But there's always time for holidays,' he said. 'These caps and these opportunities are golden and I'm trying to grab them as much as I can. This is the dream, this is where I want to be.' Little wonder he's in good form. While City's season ended in the misery of a 6-0 aggregate defeat by Sheffield United in the semi-finals of the playoffs for promotion to the Premier League, the 24-year-old Dubliner enjoyed an impressive campaign – one that earned him the club's player of the year award, and every other gong they had to offer. All of which has led to no end of chat about him attracting Premier League interest. He has nothing concrete to report on that front, but 'like anyone else, I'm ambitious, I want to play in the in the top division, but I'm relaxed about it as well,' he said. 'I've had a good season, I'm enjoying myself at Bristol.' READ MORE Assistant manager John O'Shea, sitting beside him, saluted the midfielder. 'He's new school with old school and it's a good school that he's from,' he said. 'I'm sure there are lots of people looking at him.' By then, O'Shea had to bat off questions about decidedly more solid transfer speculation in the form of Caoimhín Kelleher's later confirmed move from Liverpool to Brentford. 'It's not for us to to confirm anything,' he said, 'he was obviously at a very good club ... IS at a very good club,' he corrected himself, with a grin. Ireland assistant manager John O'Shea. Photograph: Tom Maher/Inpho 'We'd love our players to be playing, it's as simple as that,' he said of the prospect of Kelleher being a starter rather than an understudy from next season. 'He's proven the quality that he has every time he's been asked to go in as the number one for Liverpool, and he's shown that they haven't missed Alisson when he has been injured. The whole of Europe and the whole of world has seen what Caoimhín can do. Whatever happens, I'm sure we'll get the benefit of it.' Evan Ferguson is another member of the Irish squad who could do with pastures news after his fruitless loan spell at West Ham from Brighton. 'No issues whatsoever,' said O'Shea of the 20-year-old's frame of mind when he joined up with the squad. 'You can't sit and sulk about it, and Evan hasn't. 'He was fantastic in training today. He showed real good strength, physicality, technical abilities that were never in doubt. He showed the type of player we know he is and hopefully he'll get the chance to show that in the next couple of games as well. And hopefully there'll be lots of good things to come.' O'Shea also doffed his cap to the squad's newcomers, Reims midfielder John Joe Patrick Finn, Leyton Orient goalkeeper Josh Keeley, Shamrock Rovers defender Josh Honohan and Killian Phillips, who spent the season just ended on loan from Crystal Palace at St Mirren. 'They've been impressive. Plenty of powerful running and good tackling, intensity, good characters. Josh Honohan has been brilliant. He had good battles with Festy Ebosele today, it's really good to see that he's able to compete and show what he's all about. And that's what we want. We want the players to come in and show that personality.' Knight, meanwhile, talked of the progress made by the younger members of the squad, most of them blooded by Stephen Kenny. 'We've matured since we were brought us in, there's probably seven, eight, nine, 10 of us who came in at the same time and now we have 20-plus caps. We want to do something with the national team, we want to get to the big tournaments, we want to be successful, all eyes are on the World Cup. But the performances have to back that up, we need to get the results as well.' Asked what pain barrier he was prepared to cross to play for club and country, Knight was clear enough. 'If the leg isn't off, I suppose.' Albufeira can wait.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
R.I. House committee advances assault weapons ban in historic 12-6 vote
Rep. Jason Knight, second from left, explains his bill banning the sale and manufacture of assault-style weapons in Rhode Island before the House Committee on Judiciary on June 3, 2025. To his left: Rep. Arthur Corvese, a North Providence Democrat who voted against advancing the bill. To Knight's right: Committee Chairman Robert Craven and Rep. Carol Hagan McEntee, a South Kingstown Democrat. (Photo by Christopher Shea/Rhode Island Current) After years of stalling at the committee level, legislation banning the sale and manufacturing of assault-style weapons in Rhode Island starting in July 2026 is headed to the House floor for the first time in legislative history. The House Committee on Judiciary voted 12-6 Tuesday to advance the amended bill by Rep. Jason Knight, a Barrington Democrat, for consideration by the full chamber on Thursday. The historic vote drew rare attendance from Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi and House Majority Leader Christopher Blazejewski, who used their ex-officio role on all House Committees to participate in the vote. All of the state's general officers have already expressed support for the bill. 'This is a very historic and important bill,' Shekarchi told reporters after the meeting. 'It's a bill that accomplishes what we wanted to do: To take these weapons off the street.' Knight's bill would prohibit the sale and manufacturing of assault-style shotguns, handguns, and rifles beginning July 1, 2026. Violators of the proposed ban would face up to 10 years in prison, a fine of up to $10,000 and forfeiting their assault-style weapons. The bill applies to any semiautomatic firearm that has the ability to accept a detachable magazine and has at least one attachment such as stocks, pistol grips, and barrel shrouds. Certain .22 caliber rimfire rifles and Olympic-style target pistols would remain exempt from the proposed ban. Yes votes came from Chairman Robert Craven, a North Kingstown Democrat; Rep. Carol Hagan McEntee, a South Kingstown Democrat; Rep. Jason Knight, a Barrington Democrat; Rep. Edith Ajello, a Providence Democrat; Rep. José Batista, a Providence Democrat; Rep. Justine Caldwell, an East Greenwich Democrat; Rep. Julie Casimiro, a North Kingstown Democrat; Rep. Cherie Cruz, a Pawtucket Democrat; Rep. Matthew Dawson, an East Providence Democrat; Rep. Leonela Felix, a Pawtucket Democrat; House Majority Leader Christopher Blazejewski, a Providence Democrat; and House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi, a Warwick Democrat. No votes came from Rep. David Bennett, a Warwick Democrat; Rep. Arthur Corvese, a North Providence Democrat; Rep. Marie Hopkins, a Warwick Republican; Rep Thomas Noret, a Coventry, Democrat; Rep. David Place; a Burrillville Republican; and House Minority Leader Michael Chippendale, a Foster Republican. Knight said the latest definition was based on feedback the committee received during the bill's initial hearing on March 29. But lawmakers — both Republican and Democrat — still voiced numerous concerns with the amended legislation Tuesday, while gun rights advocates in yellow T-shirts listened silently in the audience. Rep. David Bennett, a Warwick Democrat, asked if there were any carveouts for orthopedic pistol grips. No, Knight responded. 'That's too bad,' Bennett said. But Knight said gun owners can still purchase firearms with any of the outlawed features if they are purchased ahead of the proposed ban, along with any firearm passed down through a family. Firearm owners can voluntarily register their weapons with state and local police in order to receive a certificate of possession. Knight's original bill had mandated that grandfathered weapons be registered, which Second Amendment advocates called unconstitutional. The voluntary certification did not appease House Minority Leader Mike Chippendale, a Foster Republican. He argued that certification would be necessary to prove ownership in the event of a police arrest. 'That sounds like a registry with a different name,' Chippendale said. Rep. Thomas Noret, a Coventry Democrat, said he was concerned that the bill could criminalize people who post photos of themselves with guns they don't own on social media. 'That mere second that they possess it — it could potentially ruin their lives,' he said. Knight responded that law enforcement already uses social media posts as evidence and that police always have the discretion to not file charges. Rep. David Place, a Burrillville Republican, argued that passing the bill will not reduce gun violence, and suggested it would disproportionately penalize people of color. 'No one that looks like me is going to be sent to jail for this bill unless I fire on somebody who comes to my door,' he said. 'We move this bill out of fear at the expense of individual liberty.' Rhode Island Republican Party Chairman Joe Powers called Knight's legislation 'a political Trojan horse.' 'It's designed to look like public safety, but it's nothing more than government overreach wrapped in fear-mongering,' Powers said in a statement. 'They're hoping you won't notice your rights being stripped away, one inch at a time.' Gun safety advocates celebrated the committee's vote. 'Our advocates and partners have worked tirelessly for more than a decade in the name of public safety and we are thrilled to have made it this far in the legislative process,' Melissa Carden, executive director of the Rhode Island Coalition Against Gun Violence, said in a statement. Tony Morettini, legislative chapter lead for Moms Demand Action, said he's hopeful the bill will clear the full House. 'A chamber passing it sends a big message,' he said. That message, he said, will be directed across the rotunda to the Rhode Island Senate where the proposal remains uncertain. Companion legislation filed in the Senate by Lou DiPalma, a Middletown Democrat, has 23 additional sponsors, including Senate President Valarie Lawson. DiPalma's bill was heard by the Senate Committee on Judiciary on May 14 where it was held for further study. Three Democrats who serve on the committee voiced opposition to the proposal during the initial hearing on DiPalma's bill. Senate Majority Leader Frank Ciccone, a Providence Democrat and federal firearms dealer, has also voiced opposition to banning assault-style weapons as initially drafted. Lawson did not immediately respond to request for comment on where the proposed ban lies on her list of priorities. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
