Voters in a small Rhode Island town defeated (click here) an effort by gun rights activists Saturday to recall four sitting town councilors who had proposed changing the way gun permits are issued.
The rare recall election was prompted by gun rights supporters who said the four Exeter council members ignored their objections to a failed proposal to allow the attorney general to oversee the town's concealed weapons permits.
"This was never a gun rights issue," said Town Council President Arlene Hicks, one of the councilors targeted by the recall. "It started out as a procedural proposal that we made as a council."
Town election officials reported a higher than expected turnout, with 63 percent voting against the recall. Of the town's roughly 5,000 registered voters, more than 1,800 turned out to cast their votes on a snowy Saturday in December for a special election that had drawn national attention from advocates on both sides of the gun control debate....
