Gun-rights backers pack State House

PROVIDENCE — Gun-rights activists thronged the State House early Thursday evening for a rally that packed the government building with gun owners who want legislators to oppose new gun control proposals.

Wearing yellow, they lined the hallways and gathered in the rotunda. They also waited lengthy periods outside in the street to gain entry.

“These are our constitutional rights,” said Daniel J. Guilmette, 30, of Lincoln, addressing the crowd in the rotunda. “We want them. We want to keep them.”

The rally presented an array of visuals to the casual observer, from a vast collection of blue Trump campaign signs positioned in the snow outside the entrance to the attire of a Brown University freshman.

Hank Hultman, of Chapel Hill, North Carolina, wore a black T-shirt screen-printed with this message: “Hell no. You’re not taking my AR-15.”

The 19-year-old also wore a yellow Gadsden flag — the one with a rattlesnake and the words ‘Don’t Tread On Me.’ It covered his back like a cape.

Hultman said he had worried the rally might not draw many people due to Rhode Island being a “blue state,” but he was impressed.

“I’m happy with what I see,” he said.

The crowd evolved over time with legions of activists waiting in a long line as others left the State House, making room for reinforcements.

Police on the scene estimated the crowd at at 1,250 to 1,500.

Frank Saccoccio of Rhode Island’s state association of the National Rifle Association put attendance at 3,000 to 4,000.

This was the movement’s first rally of the 2020 legislative season.

It was Chris Sisco’s first rally at the State House. The 46-year-old Westerly man, a consultant, has multiple guns including “AR-style” rifles.

But owning and keeping guns is getting harder, Sisco said.

“It just progressively gets worse,” he said.