Rep. David N. Cicilline (D-RI-1st) is sponsoring legislation that would prohibit persons convicted of hate crimes from purchasing guns, even if that crime was non-violent in nature.
The legislation is titled, the Hate Crimes Prevention Act.
The Hill points out that felony convictions of hate crimes already include a prohibition against gun possession and gun purchases. Cicilline’s bill would expanded that prohibition to cover misdemeanor convictions as well. He argues that misdemeanor hate crimes are “often a precursor of more severe attacks” down the road.
Cicilline lists “vandalizing a place of worship” as a misdemeanor hate crime that could trigger the loss of gun rights. For example, he said, “If you paint a swastika on the door of a synagogue, you shouldn’t be allowed to buy a gun.” He also listed other crimes, like physically assaulting people for the color of their skin or because they are gay.
Cicilline is also sponsoring legislation to ban “assault weapons” in the U.S.
AWR Hawkins is the Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.
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