Rhode island pbs weekly | rhode island pbs weekly 2/25/2024 | season 5 | episode 8

(mellow music) (gun blasting) - [Pamela] Tonight, the battle over automatic weapons in Rhode Island. - More guns in our community means more gun violence. - There were no rifles used in at

all, let alone assault rifles used in Rhode Island to commit a murder, none, zero. (mellow violin music) - [Pamela] Then we visit a Pawtucket studio where one man has traded law for music. -

It's something I just felt I really needed to do. (upbeat banjo music) - [Pamela] Finally, uncovering forgotten history. - If you don't have traditional Black folk music, you

don't get blues, you don't get jazz, you don't get gospel, you don't get rock and roll. (upbeat music) - Good evening. Welcome to "Rhode Island PBS Weekly".

I'm Pamela Watts. - And I'm Michelle San Miguel. According to the gun violence archive, nearly 5,000 people have died from gun violence in the United States since the start of 2024

and more than 3,300 have been injured. - The issue of gun violence and what can or should be done about it is very much on the mind of local and state legislatures around the country. Here

in Rhode Island, the General Assembly continues to push for an assault weapons ban in the state. As both sides gear up for the fight ahead, contributor Dorothy Dickey sheds light on this

heated issue. - [Dorthy] People are being shot and killed at alarming rates in cities across the country. - [Reporter] Neighbors shot in Cleveland, Texas, and an elementary school in

Nashville. - 22 people are dead in multiple shootings in Lewiston, Maine. - You can see a high powered assault style rifle with a large capacity magazine. You could fire multiple rounds in

quick succession, but also you don't have to reload as many times as you would with, for example, a pistol. - Assault weapons certainly make mass killings far deadlier. My name is James

Allen Fox. I'm a criminologist at Northeastern University in Boston. I manage a database in collaboration with "USA Today" and the "Associated Press" of every

incident with four or more victims of killed, not necessarily by gunfire, although 80% of the time it is with guns. It includes over 560 mass killing since the year 2006. Since 2013, 85% of

shootings involving an assault weapon were an AR-15. They are the weapon of choice, particularly for public mass shooters who are seeking to kill large numbers of individuals. And because of

its popularity, it's a weapon that's being produced and sold more often than others. - When Covid first hit, when we compare the numbers from February, 2020 to March, 2020, Rhode

Island had the highest percentage increase in the entire country of background checks. My name is Sydney Monstream-Quas and I'm the board chair of Rhode Island Coalition against Gun

Violence. The gun lobby was instilling that fear that you need a gun to protect yourself. That's a problem. More guns in our community means more gun violence. - I do not believe that

more guns means more gun violence. I actually believe the opposite. My name is Brenda Jacob and I am the secretary and lobbyist for Rhode Island Revolver and Rifle Association. I am a gun

owner. I do teaching and coaching, so I have rifles, I have handguns, (gun blasting) I have self-defense firearms that we use in our home. I have quite a variety of firearms and I think that

the reason that our crime rate is low, so low in this state and why we haven't had any of these, you know, tragedies happen is because the people do know that there's a lot of

firearm owners out there, but if you wanna disarm honest citizens, then the criminals are always gonna have the upper hand. So, because they are not gonna obey the law and it's gonna

leave people defenseless. - And some of the guns that they're getting off the street are terrifying. They're just, they're just really scary weapons. Sometimes they're,

they're weapons of war. They have no business being in the hands of civilians. - A lot of people think that we are just, you know, flannel shirt knuckle, dragging rednecks. A lot of

times we're called gun nuts, which is completely not the case. We go through a background check to get a firearm, not just locally, but we do federal background checks. To be members of

a gun club, you have to have a background check and that's every time we purchase a firearm or, you know, or every time we join a club. - We're also living in a society right now

where the level of anger that exists in every facet, it's creeped into every corner of our lives. (mellow music) (flag flapping) - When we start to look at a right, such as our right to

keep and bear arms, when we start to see that as something that we can restrict, and in this case clearly were an assault weapons ban to be passed, it would severely restrict, if not

arguably eliminate the ability of Rhode Island to exercise their second Amendment rights. We are then relegating those rights to privileges that the government can take and give at any time

they want. (mellow music) (gun blasting) - [Interviewer] You don't support a ban on AR-15s? - No, the AR-15 is a very popular firearm because it's affordable. They're also

easier to operate for, especially for older people or females, youth because they're adjustable, they're more lightweight. As a responsible gun owner, those are the traits I'm

looking for. - My job as a elected representative is to look out for my constituents. This is a public health hazard. It is, it exists, it's out there. It has happened to other

communities around the country and we're doing everything we can to make sure it doesn't happen here. And in particular, Rhode Island, in not having assault weapons bans, becoming

an outlier in New England. Massachusetts has had one forever. Connecticut has had one for a long time. Right now we're this little corner of southeastern Massachusetts where you can buy

your AR-15s, right? So we're a source for New England and we don't want to be a source. We want to create a zone in this area of the country where it's just hard to get ahold

of one, it's illegal to possess one and they have very stiff penalties if you are convicted of having one. - In the last set of data we got from 2021, there were no rifles used at all,

let alone assault rifles used in Rhode Island to commit a murder, none, zero. More people were killed with hands and feet in the state of Rhode Island in that year than with any sort of a

rifle. It's not going to have any impact on crime, which is the goal stated by the proponents. - Rhode Island has the third lowest rate of gun deaths, which is terrific, but still over

50 people are dying per year from gun violence. Still almost 200 people are wounded a year because of gun violence. So even though we are one of the better states, we are still off the

charts in terms of the number of people who are affected by gun violence killed, wounded, traumatized. We know that regulating assault weapons decreases gun violence and also decreases the

likelihood of mass shootings. - Well, it will have an impact on is the hundreds of thousands of Rhode Islanders who every day exercise their legally protected rights to enjoy the Second

Amendment and it will create criminals out of people who otherwise are not. - I disagree with him on the statement. You know, the, basically the Second Amendment is real. It's black

letter law, it exists. People have the right to bear arms, but it's not an unrestricted right to bear arms. All the other amendments in the Bill of Rights are subject to reasonable

regulation. We can have a Second Amendment that allows people to protect their homes, protect themselves through the use of firearms just like the founders intended and the Supreme Court has

held. But we don't need to give them tanks, and bazookas, and landmines and assault weapons to do it with. - As a country as a whole there's a whole lot of people that do not live

within, you know, five minutes of a police station. You know, we have the right to defend ourselves and our property. - If you eliminate firearm ownership from the public, then you can do

whatever you please including killing millions of citizens. That's what the Second Amendment is meant to stop. It's not, it's not there to allow me to shoot somebody

who's trying to get into my house, although that is one of the benefits and one of the purposes. It's not there so I can shoot ducks. It's there so I can shoot tyrants.

That's what it's about. We in the state of Rhode Island have some of the strictest, depending on how you measure it, fourth or fifth, strictest firearm related laws in the nation.

My position is that it's not the weapon that makes people do the crime. The flaws with that person's personality or mental health that makes them want to do the crime. - Probably

the most prominent misconception about mass killings is the idea that they're all seriously mentally ill. In fact, few of the 15% of mass killers are psychotic. Many of them are

depressed. After all, someone who's very happy and satisfied with their life doesn't go on our shooting rampage. When people talk about let's expand mental health services, we

should do that for the millions of Americans who could benefit. - Let's talk about you possibly coming into the BH Link. - But mass killers generally won't take you up on that

offer, because they don't think there's anything wrong with them. (mellow music) - There will always be illegal and illicit firearms out there and people who have the intent to

harm others using a firearm in a crime are not gonna stop to obey an assault weapons ban that we pass in the legislature. It's just silly to even think that. - States that have permits

to purchase, those are much more thorough background checks than the traditional FBI background check have significantly lower rates of mass shootings. And then states that have bans on

large capacity magazines, those states have fewer casualties, deaths and injuries when there is a mass shooting. So there are things that we can do. The question is whether we will. - There

are politicians who prioritize their power over public health and over gun violence prevention and I think those legislators will have blood on their hands and do have blood on their hands.

- It's roughly 4.8 million firearms manufactured in this country a year, and there's multiple kinds of firearms that are like an AR-15. Putting bans on them now is not gonna stop a

criminal from getting their hands on them. Why should I have to give up my firearm that I legally purchased because a criminal did a crime? - This is a topic that divides legislators. There

are some folks in the general assembly who don't wanna see this bill come to a vote and it's a matter of pulling the right political levers to try to get that bill to the floor

for a vote. So the bill will be reintroduced. - We've put this bill in for years on end and this year... - [Jason] And it will go to committee again. It will get a new hearing, right,

where people can come and testify. - Tonight in favor of house bill 5300. - The benefits of an armed civilian population cannot be overlooked. - And maybe some people will come in and say,

fix this, fix that, and then the work will begin anew to try to get the bill to the floor for a vote. But it is only a matter of time because it is going to come to the floor at some point

in the near future and it's gonna get a vote. Either next year or perhaps after the next election. - This is not a quick fix. This is something that everybody needs to come together. We

need to start from the bottom and work our way up and rebuild the foundation. (gun blasting) - In January, the legislature reintroduced a bill banning the sale transfer and possession of

assault weapons. It's now moved on to the House judiciary committee, which will set a date for a future public hearing. Up next, not everyone would leave a successful white collar

profession to spend their days toiling at a workbench, but the sound of music proves so irresistible For one Rhode Islander, he left his day job to try his hand at creating a thing of

beauty. (upbeat violin music) Dennis McCarten admits he is no maestro on the violin, but he can make beautiful music. This is one of his instruments. For nearly 20 years, McCarten has been

making, restoring and repairing violins as well as violas and cellos in his Pawtucket mill shop. For him, it's a career combining fine woodworking skills with his affinity for Irish

tunes. (mellow violin music) In addition to the violin, McCarten also once took piano lessons. - When I was in parochial school, I wasn't very good at that either. I didn't like

it. Sitting on a piano bench with a nun was not my idea of a good time. - [Pamela] So McCarten grew up to become a lawyer. For almost 30 years, he was a Providence defense attorney handling

major cases and was honored by the Rhode Island Bar Association for his professionalism. He's still licensed to practice, but he heard another calling from the strains of the violin.

(mellow violin music) - [Dennis] I am drawn to it as an object, the shape of it, the color of it, the curves, and that's something that goes way, way back. - [Pamela] All the way back

to Cranston, where he grew up in the shadow of the old Narraganset Brewery. McCarten's neighbor was the brew master's son, on the far left, and McCarten on the far right says he

was five when his playmate introduced him to the violin. - I think it was in their basement. He showed me this thing he had that was a violin. I can't describe it to you other than it

was the right shape. It had the four strings, it had a bow and he allowed me to pick it up and draw the bow across the string and it was, yeah, I was smitten. (mellow violin music) -

McCarten's love went unrequited for decades, even though he eventually learned to play and also fiddled with constructing violins from kits. A hobby called being a Luthier. Making the

jump to being a Luthier from being a lawyer is really an about face. - Well, I thought so, too. Okay, I really did. I said, you know, this is it. It's something I just felt I really

needed to do. - [Pamela] McCarten says the turning point was the trend of settling cases. He missed the courtroom drama. - It was less fun than it had been. A lot of what I really enjoyed

was the most stressful stuff, which the actual courtroom work. And one of the early epiphanies I had when I started doing this work was that a lot of the problem solving, the creative

problem solving I had done as an attorney, it was kind of the same feeling when I'm sitting down with a busted violin and I need to fix it. - [Pamela] To become a master violin maker,

McCarten at age 53 studied for three years full time in an intensive program in Boston. - It's not just like picking up a saw. You're not only cutting the wood, you're

sculpting it and at the same time listening to it. Literally, you know, 'cause you're carving the top of a violin and you, you tap it to hear what kind of tone it's making and

make sure that it's resonant. I mean that was the beauty of the great makers. What you know, what they managed to accomplish. You think of 400 years ago, making the best violins we

still have. - [Pamela] The best and now most valuable violins are considered to be the ones made by Antonio Stradivari in Cremona, Italy in the 16 and 1700s. He perfected the instrument we

know today. This is what a $15 million stratus sounds like. (upbeat violin music) - This is an Italian instrument made in Cremona, Italy. - [Pamela] There are string instruments hanging

everywhere in McCartney's workshop showroom. His clientele ranges from a musician with a symphony orchestra to beginning students and adult professionals. - This is a viola. It's

much larger than a violin. You wanna hold that? - Sure. Oh, it's light. - Yeah. Well, we start with about 12 pounds of wood and we end up with about two pounds. - [Pamela] Violins are

primarily made of maple wood, spruce for the top soundboard provides strength and resonance. It takes McCarten about three months to make a violin. He starts with a template, designs a mold,

and the instrument is created from the inside out. - If you look at it from the outside, almost looks perfectly symmetrical and actually the inside is not symmetrical because there are

structures inside a violin, which have a lot to do with tone production. - Sculpting the scroll atop the neck is the final phase. What goes through your mind as you're as a craftsman

working on his baby? - Almost nothing, that's the beauty of it. And that's one of the reasons, because it's so meditative. Things have to just fit together without being

forced together. The glue joints have to be perfect and complete. Two perfectly flat surfaces have to be mated and to achieve those qualities of the material takes concentration. But to me,

the beauty of it is, is getting lost in that space. - [Pamela] A space that has become his sweet spot. As sweet as listening to music being played by famed violinist, Itzhak Perlman. (mellow

violin music) What is it about the music of a violin, of a string instrument that's so emotional? - I've heard it explained that that the violin and even, and the cello even more

so than the violin because they exist in the range of the human voice and they don't have artificial stops. Like pianos have keys or guitars have frets. There's an infinite number

of notes that can be played. So it mimics almost exactly the human voice. (mellow violin music) When it's well played, it really is such a natural sounding instrument. There's

nothing forced or artificial about a well played violin. (mellow violin music) - Finally tonight in our continuing My Take series, we explore the often forgotten history of Black folk music

with the help of providence based musician, Jake Blount. (upbeat banjo music) (hands clapping) - My name is Jake Blount and this is my take on Black folk music. (upbeat banjo music) Black

Folk music is important, because it's the bedrock of every major American musical export. If you don't have traditional Black folk music, you don't get blues, you don't

get jazz, you don't get gospel, you don't get rock and roll, you don't get any of the things that came out of rock and roll. You don't get punk, you don't get disco,

you don't get house. We have a spotty historical record when it comes to Black folk musicians and they're, our contribution to the canon. And there's a lot of restoration of

the historical narrative that we have to do. ♪ I am a poor old railroad man ♪ In the early 1900, we start to see white record executives go down into the South and they began to market white

musicians from the South as hillbilly musicians. They made hillbilly records and that is what we would generally consider early country music, early folk music, stuff in that vein. And

Black musicians were recorded making race records and those tended to be early blues in jazz. ♪ Way down in South in the Alabamy ♪ And that meant that these genres, which had been all

together, fed into one another for so long, wound up splitting apart, because there was a financial incentive for them to do so. And they split apart, not across sonic lines, but across race

lines. You had to make a certain type of music or else nobody would record you. Nobody would sell your stuff, you wouldn't be able to play gigs. There are some prominent white artists

from hillbilly records back in the day whose work we know now who learned a lot of what they did from Black musicians. One example would be the Carter family. (mellow Hillbilly music) And

A.P. Carter, the father of that family, traveled around collecting songs with a disabled Black man named Lesley Riddle, who taught them a good deal of their repertoire, likely, heavily

influenced, if not completely taught Mabel Carter her guitar style. He never got recorded until decades later and you know, is playing some of the same music, but it gets categorized under

blues and not country. (upbeat violin music) I don't like the way that musicians, and marketing people and scholars have represented the Black folk tradition as this like dead thing

that exists in the past. I like to incorporate traditional repertoire in the things that I'm doing now. (upbeat music) My new album is called "The New Faith". It's an

Afro-futurist concept album that explores what Black religious music might sound like in a post climate crisis world. So it set a few hundred years in the future and uses music all the way

from a few hundred years into the past. ♪ Once there was no sun ♪ ♪ Once there was no sun ♪ It feels like sitting down with somebody who I don't know and them sharing something

that's really personal and there is a unifying feeling in that, that we're sharing something because we know it's important to pass on and we know it's important for the

next person to have. I don't know who I am without this music. (upbeat violin music) For Black people, these songs are the oldest texts that we have. They come out of a time and a place

where people were legally not permitted to learn to read and write, much less encouraged to honestly convey their thoughts in a recorded medium. The songs are the only thing that I have to

tell me what my ancestors wanted from me and how I'm supposed to think about the world even as it exceeds the bounds of my influence. (upbeat violin music) (hands clapping) My name is

Jake Blount and this was my take on Black folk music. - And that's our broadcast this evening. I'm Pamela Watts. - And I'm Michelle San Miguel. We'll be back next week

with another edition of "Rhode Island PBS Weekly". Until then, please follow us on Facebook, and X and visit us online to see all of our stories and past episodes at

RIPBS.org/weekly. Or listen to our podcast on your favorite streaming platform. Goodnight. (upbeat music) (upbeat music continues) (upbeat music continues) (upbeat music continues) (upbeat

music continues)