Politics

Cranston Mayor Allan Fung has hired an experienced campaign operative as a consultant.  Fung is considered a likely Republican candidate for governor next year.

Patrick Sweeney is a former director of the Rhode Island Republican Party and he ran Barry Hinckley’s losing GOP challenge last year to US Senator Sheldon Whitehouse. Sweeney started work as a consultant for Fung April first.  The veteran GOP staffer was guarded when asked if this signals a gubernatorial run for Fung.

Republican lawmakers are taking aim at a package of gun control bills proposed Tuesday by Governor Lincoln Chafee and legislative leaders.

Among other things, the new laws would ban the sale of semi-automatic assault weapons and high capacity magazines.  State Representative Doreen Costa of North Kingstown questions the constitutionality of the bills.

The 2013 edition of the “Rhode Island Government Owner’s Manual” has been published and is ready for pick-up at the Statehouse.

The 300-page directory is published every two years to reflect the results of the November election. It includes contact information for hundreds of officials, including every member of the General Assembly as well as city and town councils.

The full Rhode Island Senate is expected to vote on same-sex marriage legislation within the next few weeks. That’s according to the spokesman for Senate President Teresa Paiva Weed.

The first step for the legislation is the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Same-sex marriage supporters want the General Assembly to approve same-sex marriage. Opponents favor a competing bill calling for the issue to be decided through a statewide vote.

The Senate is expected to consider the issue after its spring break next week.

State officials plan to roll out a package of bills Tuesday in an attempt to reduce gun-related violence. Lawmakers and law enforcement officials have been discussing the issue since January.

Rhode Island is among the states considering more stringent gun laws after the school shooting last year in Newtown, Connecticut. The local response will come in a package of nine bills. The proposals are expected to include such topics as background checks, weapons sales, and mental health.