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SR 1157

SENATE RESOLUTION CONDEMNING POLITICAL VIOLENCE AND EXPRESSING SYMPATHY TO THE FAMILIES OF THE HONORABLE SPEAKER EMERITA MELISSA HORTMAN AND THE HONORABLE STATE SENATOR JOHN HOFFMAN

2025 Regular Session Introduced by Frank Ciccone and 9 co-sponsors

Rhode Island Senate condemns political violence tied to a Minnesota shooting, expresses sympathy to the families, and urges that violence is never a legitimate form of dissent.

06/17/2025 Senate read and passed
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Bill Summary · SR 1157

Summary of Senate Resolution SR 1157

Overview

  • Bill: SR 1157 (Senate Resolution)
  • Title: Condemning political violence and expressing sympathy to the families of the Honorable Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman and the Honorable State Senator John Hoffman
  • Classification: Resolution (non-binding)
  • Status: Senate read and passed on June 17, 2025
  • Introduced: June 17, 2025
  • Referred/Action: Recommended for Immediate Consideration; subsequently passed by the Rhode Island Senate on the same day
  • Version: LC003071

Purpose and Intent

  • The resolution condemns political violence and reaffirms foundational American principles of political and religious freedom, debate, and tolerance.
  • It memorializes a tragic incident in Minnesota on June 14, described as a targeted, politically motivated shooting at the homes of the Honorable Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman and the Honorable State Senator John Hoffman, resulting in deaths and injuries.
  • The core aim is to express outrage at political violence and to offer sympathy to the affected families, the Hortman and Hoffman families, and the people of Minnesota.

Key Provisions

  • Condemnation: The Rhode Island Senate formally condemns the political violence that killed Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, and wounded John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, in Minnesota.
  • Sympathy: The resolution extends deepest sympathy to the Hortman and Hoffman children and families, as well as to the people of Minnesota.
  • Public Message: It states that violence is never a legitimate means of expressing dissent.
  • Transmission Directive: The Secretary of State is authorized and directed to transmit duly certified copies of the resolution to:
    • Governor Tim Walz of Minnesota
    • Lisa Demuth, Speaker of the Minnesota House

Affected Parties and Entities

  • Primary: The Rhode Island Senate as a body.
  • Indirectly affected: The Hortman and Hoffman families, the people of Minnesota, and Minnesota state officials (Governor Walz and House Speaker Demuth) via the conveyance of the resolution.
  • No fiscal or regulatory changes; the measure is a symbolic, commemorative action.

Procedural and Timeline Details

  • Introduced: June 17, 2025
  • Action: Recommended for Immediate Consideration; Senate read and passed on the same day (June 17, 2025)
  • Nature: A formal expression of condemnation and sympathy, not a statute or budget item, and carries no enforceable programmatic impact.

Contextual Note

  • The resolution foregrounds American democratic values—debate over violence, tolerance, and freedom of expression—while responding to a contemporaneous and highly publicized act of political violence in another state. It serves as a cross-state gesture of solidarity and condemnation.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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