Gun rights in Rhode Island: Legislation and SCOTUS decisions alter the landscape
SCOTUS declines to take up large capacity magazine ban; RI House to vote on assault weapon ban; and Rep. Magaziner introduces national legislation to crack down on illegal gun sales
During Gun Violence Awareness Month, Rep. Magaziner to Announce Legislation Cracking Down on Illegal Gun Sales
As Gun Violence Awareness Month begins, Representative Seth Magaziner (Democrat, RI-02) held a press conference alongside those whose lives have been affected by gun violence, leaders in gun safety advocacy, and members of Rhode Island law enforcement to announce the reintroduction of his bill, the Prevent Illegal Gun Sales Act.
This legislation, which will be introduced with companion legislation by Senator Ed Markey (Democrat, MA-05), confronts rogue firearms dealers who knowingly break the law by selling firearms “off the books,” falsifying records, and providing guns to straw purchasers, gun traffickers, and dangerous individuals. While the vast majority of dealers follow the rules, a small number of bad actors have been disproportionately linked to guns used in incidents of gun violence. About 90 percent of firearms recovered by law enforcement at crime scenes are traced back to just five percent of firearms dealers, according to a report published by the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence.
“While most gun dealers, I assume, are doing the right thing by performing background checks and following the law, all it takes is a relatively small number of dealers not doing the right thing to sell guns under the table illegally, fail to perform background checks, falsify records, and purposely sell firearms to people who aren’t supposed to have them,” said Representative Magaziner. “A relatively small number of bad dealers who don’t follow the law can do a tremendous amount of damage. We have a gun violence problem in this country. Schools, movie theaters, grocery stores, places of worship, nightclubs, and more public spaces have become increasingly vulnerable to gun violence because of the flood of illegal guns in the hands of people who are not supposed to have them.
“I think most people would be surprised to know that federal agencies like the ATF are, under the law, prevented from inspecting dealers oftentimes more than once a year, even if that dealer has a pattern and history of illegal sales being traced back to them,” continued Representative Magaziner. “Oftentimes, failing to follow the law, perform background checks, or keep adequate records as required under the law results in only a slap on the wrist and maybe a small fine when repeat offenders ought to be held accountable and ultimately shut down.”
Representative Magaziner’s bill will crack down on these illegal practices by authorizing more frequent inspections of firearms dealers, increasing penalties for serious offenses like failing to perform federally required background checks, and strengthening the Department of Justice’s authority and discretion in enforcing gun laws.
Also speaking in favor of the bill were:
Colonel Oscar Perez, Jr., Chief of the Providence Police Department
Diana Garlington, a mother who lost her daughter to gun violence, and the Board Secretary of the Rhode Island Coalition Against Gun Violence
Melissa Carden, Executive Director for the Rhode Island Coalition Against Gun Violence
Attorney General Neronha: R.I.’s large capacity magazine ban survives legal challenge after SCOTUS declines review:
Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha today issued the following statement applauding the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to deny certiorari for Ocean State Tactical v. Rhode Island.
“My Office has always fought to ensure that we have common-sense gun laws on the books to keep Rhode Islanders safe, and today’s Supreme Court decision allows us to continue that mission without interruption,” said Attorney General Neronha. “The law in question, the state’s ban on possession of large-capacity magazines, as well as other gun safety laws, are working – and working well – to prevent gun deaths and hold accountable those who commit gun crimes. Just last year, my Office charged more than 300 cases involving large-capacity magazines of 11 rounds or higher, undoubtedly preventing and deterring gun violence in the process.
“Every life has meaning – every person has hopes, dreams, family, and friends, all of which shatter when we lose someone to gun violence. As the Rhode Island General Assembly prepares to vote on the assault weapons ban, it is my hope that this Office’s successful defense of the large-capacity magazine ban inspires our leadership to act, and act boldly, because one life lost to gun violence is one too many.”
Rhode Island House Judiciary Committee to vote on assault weapons ban:
Legislation sponsored by Representative Jason Knight (Democrat District 67, Barrington, Warren) to ban assault weapons in Rhode Island has been scheduled for a vote by the House Judiciary Committee for Tuesday, June 3 at 3 p.m.
The committee is expected to consider an amendment to the bill (H5436) to refine the definitions of firearms that will be classified as assault weapons and to replace a requirement that grandfathered assault weapons be registered with the police with a voluntary certification program, providing owners with proof that their weapons are grandfathered.
Representative Knight has sponsored the bill since 2018. This is the first time the bill has been brought to a committee vote.
“Uvalde, Parkland, Las Vegas, the Pulse nightclub, Newtown, Aurora — in all of our nation’s deadliest mass shootings, the tool that enabled the perpetrator to kill so many victims was an assault weapon,” said Representative Knight. “They are the preferred weapon of mass shooters because their sole purpose is to vastly increase the magnitude of death and destruction their user can inflict. We don’t need them here in Rhode Island. I am grateful to the many people who, year after year, have worked hard and shown up to advocate for this bill, which has evolved through study, collaboration, and listening over all that time. I urge my colleagues on the Judiciary Committee and in the House and Senate to support its passage this year.”
The legislation would prohibit the manufacture, purchase, sale, transfer, and possession of certain assault weapons, including certain types of semi-automatic shotguns, rifles, and pistols. It also levies criminal penalties for anyone convicted of violating the ban. It provides exemptions from the prohibition for current and retired law enforcement officers, active-duty members of the armed forces, National Guard or reserve personnel, federally licensed firearm dealers, and individuals who lawfully possessed an assault weapon on the effective date of the ban.
The proposed amendment includes more precise definitions of the weapons that would be prohibited. Those who already own weapons classified as assault weapons when the ban takes effect on July 1, 2026, would still be allowed to keep them, just as they would in the original version of the bill.
The amendment eliminates the requirement that owners register the weapons with local or state police. Instead, it creates a voluntary program through which those who already own assault weapons could get a certificate of possession from their local police department that would serve as legally admissible proof that their gun is grandfathered. To alleviate concerns that such certificates would serve as a de facto registry, the amendment’s language prohibits police from maintaining any record of the application or issuance of such certificates.
Since the certificate program would be voluntary, grandfathered owners could legally opt to do nothing when the bill takes effect.
Grandfathered owners would be subject to limitations on where they could possess the weapons. Allowable places would include their home, business, or other property they own, licensed gun ranges and shooting clubs, sanctioned gun expos and similar events, and while transporting the weapon to and from such places or to a licensed gun dealer.
The federal assault weapons ban expired in 2004 and has not been reauthorized by Congress since then. Currently, 10 states have statutes that ban certain assault weapons.
Legislation to more strongly regulate assault weapons is the last remaining unaddressed major legislative recommendation of a gun-safety working group established by former governor Gina M. Raimondo following the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, in 2018.
This legislation is supported by all five of the state’s general officers, as well as numerous groups working to end gun violence. Polls continue to show that a majority of Rhode Islanders are in favor of banning assault weapons.
Should the Judiciary Committee vote to approve the bill, it would then go to the full House of Representatives for a vote. Thirty-eight of the House’s 75 members — just over half — have cosponsored the legislation.
If it passes the House, it would then go to the Senate, where Senator Louis DiPalma (Democrat, District 12, Middletown, Little Compton, Tiverton, Newport) is sponsoring its Senate companion (S0359).