With two very different bills in play, will an assault weapons ban pass this session?

"People are saying that [the Senate bill] is a watered-down version," said Senator Matthew LaMountain. "I actually take a contrary stance to that. I say this version is stronger."

June 20, 2025: Update from Elisabeth Ryan, policy counsel at Everytown for Gun Safety:

“Claims that this law would be weak or ineffective are simply false. The weakest law is what Rhode Island has now, no ban on assault weapons. This would create a real, enforceable ban on the sale and manufacture of assault weapons, just like the law already working in Washington state, getting them off the shelves of Rhode Island gun stores once and for all. Access matters, and this bill would end access to these especially deadly weapons of war, making Rhode Islanders safer. As amended, the bill would permanently end the sale, transfer, and manufacture of assault rifles in Rhode Island—the very weapons used in nearly every major mass shooting, from Sandy Hook to Parkland to Uvalde. It’s time to ban these weapons of war in Rhode Island.”

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After the Senate Judiciary Committee passed its version of an assault weapons ban, S0359A, on a 9-6 vote on Wednesday, they held a phone call press conference to explain the rationale for rejecting the recently passed House bill, H5436A. The Rhode Island Coalition Against Gun Violence (RICAGV), through its Executive Director Melissa Carden, expressed support for the House bill, calling the Senate version “weakened.”

Senate Judiciary Chair Matthew LaMountain defended the Senate bill, arguing that it is stronger than the House bill. The Senate bill is scheduled to be heard on the Senate floor on Friday, but the two very different bills will need to be reconciled, or the House will need to pass the Senate version, before any assault weapons legislation can be transferred to the Governor for his signature. Friday, being the last planned day of the 2025 legislative session, anything can go wrong, meaning advocates will have to start again in 2026 if the assault weapons ban fails. On the other hand, Second Amendment stalwarts will be overjoyed if the attempt to regulate assault weapons fails.

Here’s the phone call press conference, edited for clarity:

Senator Lou Dipalma: Today’s a great day for Rhode Island. This moves the ball forward in protecting Rhode Islanders, and a vast majority of Rhode Islanders want this. They want assault weapons banned, and this moves them one step closer to getting there. From a process perspective, this will go to the full Senate on Friday, and we’ll see where we go from there as it gets to the House. Still, it’s a big day for Rhode Islanders that this bill was able to make it through the committee, thanks to the leadership of the chair, the Senate President, and the Majority Leader, who are working to help make Rhode Islanders safer.

Senator Matthew LaMountain: I think it’s a great bill because it addresses the elephant in the room - the availability of these weapons of war in the general population. [This bill] takes a different approach than the House did, but it is still seeking the same outcome: restricting these weapons from being available to the general population. People are saying that this is a watered-down version. I actually take a contrary stance and say this version is stronger, because we crafted it with the knowledge that federal law prohibits people from going out of state to purchase this type of firearm and then bringing them into the state when they’re prohibited in Rhode Island.

We’ve also eliminated the generational transfer of these firearms, and there is no carve-out for any police departments or police officers who possess them outside of their official duties. The main goal of this is to limit the use of assault weapons in mass shootings all over the country by the general population of Rhode Island, and I believe this bill does it in a better, more efficient, and more expedited manner than the House version.

It’s a version that we arrived at through mutual agreement and compromise. Regarding some people’s assertion that it’s a watered-down version, I argue that compromise is a strategy that keeps government functioning and progress alive, even when it’s slower than people would like. I think this is a monumental step in the right direction.

Monisha Henley: I’m the Senior Vice President of Government Affairs at Everytown. Tonight, I would like to discuss why we are proud to support S0359. We came into this session with a big goal: pass an assault weapons ban. This goal isn’t new - for at least 12 years, beginning shortly after the tragedy at Sandy Hook, advocates have been showing up in Providence, session after session, calling on lawmakers to get this done, and we wouldn’t be where we are today without the leadership in the House, which passed a strong comprehensive bill. Now, the Senate is responding by moving its version, which passed through the committee earlier today.

This is the closest we’ve ever been to getting this done, and let me be clear: the amended bill is an assault weapons ban. It will keep the vast majority of assault weapons off the shelves in Rhode Island, including AR-15s and AK-47s. These weapons of war have been used in some of our nation’s worst mass shootings. Once the law goes into effect, these assault weapons will become illegal to purchase in Rhode Island.

Let me be clear: If we pass S0359, we will save lives, limit access to weapons of war, and help prevent mass casualties in Rhode Island. Rhode Islanders have been waiting for 12 long years to see this day, and with the passage of this lifesaving bill, their long wait can finally come to an end.

Elisabeth Ryan: I am the policy council at Everytown for Gun Safety.

The assault weapons ban passed by the Senate Judiciary Committee today is an assault weapons ban, and it would prohibit the manufacture, sale, and transfer of assault rifles, which make up the overwhelming majority of the assault weapon market. Assault rifles have indisputably been the weapon of choice for mass shooters in the deadliest mass shootings in recent history, including those in Las Vegas, Orlando, Aurora, Uvaldi, Parkland, Lewiston, and Sandy Hook. We’re talking about hundreds of lives that have been taken by assault rifles and hundreds more that they have wounded, and these represent only a handful of these incidents.

The definition of prohibited firearm in this bill, as it pertains to assault rifles, remains robust and comprehensive. The definition has been narrowed in the House version, specifically regarding shotguns and pistols. Still, in terms of public safety impact and in terms of crafting laws that are responsive to and would prevent mass shooting tragedies, assault rifles are the most important category on which these prohibitions can focus, and this bill does just that.

This bill will effectively end the sale and manufacture of assault rifles in Rhode Island, the weapons of choice for mass shooters, many of whom legally purchased them in the weeks and months leading up to the commission of these tragedies. No one in the state will be able to sell or purchase these weapons in Rhode Island. People who currently possess them will no longer be able to sell or gift these weapons to anyone in Rhode Island unless it is to a licensed gun dealer. Access to these weapons matters, and preventing access by getting these guns off the shelves of gun stores across Rhode Island will help prevent tragedies.

There have been numerous instances in which mass shooters and others have bought their weapons shortly before committing their crimes, including the shooter at Pulse Nightclub in Orlando, who purchased his assault rifle less than one week before he killed 49 people and wounded 53 more. The shooter in Uvalde purchased his assault rifle just five days before killing 21 people, most of them children, and wounding 17 more. The shooters in Aurora and Lewiston both bought their assault rifles mere weeks or months before carrying out their shootings. The sales of all of these types of assault rifles used to perpetrate those mass killings will be prohibited in Rhode Island under this bill. Washington state has a similar sales ban in place, and it is still very much a ban that will reduce access to these assault weapons.

Kevin Lowther: I am a resident of Rhode Island. In fact, after my military service, I served as an elected official on the Town Council of Westerly, and I led hundreds of patrols in Iraq and Afghanistan. I’ve seen firsthand the devastating effects of these weapons. In the wrong hands, they can cause death and suffering on a scale that the writers of the Second Amendment never contemplated. I support the right of citizens to own guns for self-protection, sport, and hunting, but assault weapons with high-capacity magazines are designed for one thing: killing as many humans as possible while on the move, and they have no place on our streets.

Mia Tretta: I’m an incoming junior at Brown University and a gun safety advocate with Brown University’s Chapter of Students Demand Action, and one of the presidents of the group.

When I was 15 years old, I was a typical freshman in high school, worried about my grade in Spanish and whether someone would ask me to the next school dance. But on November 14th, 2019, an older student whom I had never seen before entered my school with a gun. I was talking to my friends when suddenly I heard a loud bang, followed by several more that knocked me to the ground. Confused and in a daze, I managed to get up, only to find that my campus quad, which had been full of students and laughter moments before, was now nearly empty.

I ran across campus and up several flights of stairs to my Spanish class, and it wasn’t until I was surrounded by terrified classmates that I realized I’d been shot. I was airlifted to a nearby hospital with a 45 caliber bullet lodged in my stomach. Only after doctors had performed lifesaving surgeries to remove it did I learn that my friend Dominic had been killed beside me. From that day on, gun safety has been incredibly important to me, as you can imagine, and it’s never lost on me that far too many young people have, or unfortunately will, go through similar experiences.

Our leaders here in Rhode Island have an opportunity to prevent that. Assault weapons are often the weapon of choice for mass and school shooters because they’re designed to kill as many people as possible in a short period. These weapons of war are built for mass destruction, not for hunting or sport.

As often argued, nine states and Washington, D.C. already have a ban on assault weapons in place, and it’s far past the time for Rhode Island to follow suit. We know this will work. When there was a federal ban in place between ‘94 and 2004, research shows that mass shooting fatalities were 70% less likely. The bill passed by the Senate [committee] today is a major step forward that will keep more assault weapons from being sold in Rhode Island communities and keep students like me safer in schools and universities.

Imagine if it were your kid going to school. If this law only saves one life, isn’t that worth it? I’m joining this call today not only as a student proudly attending school in the beautiful State of Rhode Island, but also as someone who lost their best friend to gun violence and as an authority on the devastating effects of gun violence on the human body. I do not want this to happen to anyone else, so I’m excited to see this bill pass the Senate Judiciary Committee for the first time. We now need the full Senate floor to follow suit and for the House to pass it as well. While this is not the exact language that they put forward, it will save lives. And of course, it’s a start. I beg of you: keep the weapon of choice for mass and school shooters out of Rhode Island. Our lives truly depend on it.

Edward Fitzpatrick: I want to ensure I understood the point you made about the prohibition on the sale of AK-47s and AR-15s. There was a caveat about some AKs and AR-15s being exempt [from the bill]. Can you explain that?

Elisabeth Ryan: I am not the gun model expert here, but what this bill focuses on are assault rifles, which are most of what we think about when we think about AR-15s and AK-47s. This bill covers certain shotguns and pistols, but it excludes specific pistols that were previously classified as assault weapons in the previous version of the bill. The focus here is on assault rifles, which is generally what we talk about when we talk about AR-15s and AK-47s; some pistol models are no longer covered.

Edward Fitzpatrick: Most of the AK-47s and AR-15s are prohibited.

Senator LaMountain: Exactly,

Elisabeth Ryan: Yes.

Senator LaMountain: I can answer that. This is a question that was raised in committee and during discussions aimed at finding a middle ground, as well as through speaking with individuals who have had military service. There are two definitions in our section of prohibited firearms. If it’s an assault rifle with a fixed magazine over 10, it’s not permitted.

The bill would allow for assault rifles with a fixed magazine under 10 with whatever features you want on it. It’s the same language in this version and the House version, and the purpose of that is that the deadliness of the firearm with a detachable magazine compared to a fixed magazine drops substantially, allowing people the opportunity to flee, hide, and for law enforcement to arrive.

The crux of this bill seeks to prevent the sale of these military grade weapons that, in my opinion, have no place in our general society, weapons with detachable magazines and military style features, and I’ll go through that.

It’s clear from the detachable magazine that you can reload as much as you want. Even with a 10-round magazine clip, you can keep loading and unloading. So we talk about the features test, which is the same in both versions - we’re talking about a folding or telescopic stock to make it easily concealable and a bayonet mount that can attach a bayonet, but also other features on top of that: a grenade launcher [or] a shroud to attach to the barrel to allow somebody to hold the front of the barrel to move for greater accuracy.

You can picture the military sweeping from room to room with a pistol grip or a thumbhole stock. The pistol grip makes it easier to handle - that’s where you see most of the AK-47s, and when you picture an assault rifle, the pistol grip is typically there. A thumbhole stock enables quick maneuvering from the hip, allowing the gun to be kept in a discreet location and drawn out quickly.

A flash suppressor and threaded barrel to accommodate a flash suppressor [are features of an assault weapon]. These features define what assaults are, and more often than not, they’re found in AK-47s. Now, some manufacturers produce compliant versions of these weapons in Maryland, Massachusetts, and California; however, most of them have fixed magazines, and the only option available is a detachable magazine. Sometimes, hunting rifles feature detachable magazines but lack other military-style features.

Edward Fitzpatrick: The Rhode Island Coalition Against Gun Violence is saying this is a weakened bill, and the House passed a stronger bill..

Senator LaMountain: I appreciate everybody’s advocacy on this issue, and I understand that with anything in life, there are different opinions and different approaches about how to address the same problem, and I’m not saying one’s right or one’s wrong. However, the reality of politics is that you need votes to move bills forward, and we have to find a compromise. And compromise is not a bad thing.

Unfortunately, the coalition views it that way, and hopefully, they will reconsider their view. I know they worked extensively on the House version of the bill; however, in my opinion, we’ve passed a stronger bill. I don’t think it’s watered down because there are no exceptions for any future possession. If you currently have possession, you can retain it. There is no passing it on to family members, and no exceptions apply to law enforcement.

You can have it if you’re a law enforcement officer and the department purchases it for you, but you cannot purchase it personally if you’re a police officer. You can’t have a separate one at your house. The goal of both bills is to reduce the availability of these firearms as fast as we can, and we realize that no matter what legislation we pass, these weapons are not coming off the street overnight. What Mia noted in her statement is that the goal of both bills is to get these weapons off the streets, and I firmly believe that our approach achieves this in a more timely manner because we don’t allow the generational passing of these firearms.

We discussed the concern of someone traveling to another state to purchase these firearms. You can’t. There’s a federal law that says you can only purchase in another state if your state allows it. This says you can’t: Rhode Island does not allow the sale or transfer of firearms; therefore, you’ll be prohibited from [purchasing] anywhere.

It’s my firm stance and belief that in crafting this legislation, we’ve achieved the same outcome and goal of the House while addressing real concerns about federal registries and other issues raised in the testimony, but still achieving the same outcomes. With that, we hope to garner the support of the members on the floor and, ultimately, the support of the House, the Speaker, and the House sponsor, so that we can reach a common agreement that this is progress and will save lives.