Rhode Island Passes ‘Assault Weapon’ Ban

The Ocean State will seemingly quickly change into the eleventh to limit widespread courses of semi-automatic firearms.

Within the waning hours of the state’s legislative session, Rhode Island lawmakers gave their closing approval to Senate Invoice 0359 on Friday night time. The measure seeks to outlaw the manufacture and sale of any semi-automatic rifle or shotgun able to accepting a removable journal that has a number of disfavored beauty or ergonomic options. It now goes to Governor Dan McKee (D.), who has pledged to signal it into regulation.

“I’m proud that Rhode Island took an essential step ahead in defending our communities from gun violence,” Mckee wrote in a social media submit. “I thank the Normal Meeting and the various advocates for his or her tireless work, and I hope they’ll be a part of me after I signal this invoice into regulation. As Governor, I’m dedicated to working with our companions on widespread sense gun security measures to maintain our communities secure.”

The invoice’s passage extends the success gun-control advocates have had in reigniting the unfold of state-level ‘assault weapon’ bans lately. Between 2000 and 2022, the variety of states with bans on sure disfavored semi-automatic firearms remained agency at seven, plus Washington, DC. That quantity has since grown by greater than 50 %, with Rhode Island changing into the fourth new state within the final three years to undertake a ban.

This resurgence has coincided with a spike in gun-rights lawsuits, inspired by the Supreme Court docket’s evolving Second Modification jurisprudence, geared toward getting “assault weapon” bans declared unconstitutional in court docket. To this point, nevertheless, such lawsuits have largely been unsuccessful. And although the Supreme Court docket has prompt it agrees with gun-rights teams that sweeping semi-auto bans go too far, it has just lately declined to become involved. Though, Justice Bret Kavanaugh prompt it’ll accomplish that within the close to future.

“Opinions from different Courts of Appeals ought to help this Court docket’s final decisionmaking on the AR–15 situation,” Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote in a press release on the court docket’s denial of  Snope v. Brown. “Extra petitions for certiorari will seemingly be earlier than this Court docket shortly and, for my part, this Court docket ought to and presumably will handle the AR–15 situation quickly, within the subsequent Time period or two.”

Gun-control advocates celebrated the invoice’s passage as an indication of progress.

“Rhode Island lawmakers simply reaffirmed that in an age of political dysfunction, gun security is without doubt one of the uncommon points the place progress remains to be attainable,” John Feinblatt, President of Everytown for Gun Security, mentioned in a press launch.

In the meantime, gun-rights advocates decried the invoice. The Nationwide Capturing Sports activities Basis (NSSF), the firearms trade’s commerce group, known as the invoice one other instance of “antigun politicians strolling over the constitutional rights” of Americans.

“Banning essentially the most popular-selling centerfire rifle in America at this time is clearly unconstitutional,” Mark Oliva, NSSF’s Director of Public Affairs, advised The Reload. “There are over 30 million of those rifles in circulation at this time, greater than there are Ford F-150s on the street. That alone demonstrates that they’re commonly-owned and commonly-used for lawful functions day by day, together with looking, leisure taking pictures and self-defense.”

The invoice in its authentic type, which cleared the state Home, would have prolonged the proposed ban to incorporate possession of the affected firearms as properly—except present house owners of AR-15s and related firearms agreed to register them with the police. That proved too controversial for key members of the state’s Senate, together with the chamber’s majority chief, who solely agreed to again the measure if it was reworked to strip out the possession prohibition. The Senate handed the softened model by a 25-11 vote Friday, and the Home concurred 43-28 with simply hours to spare within the legislative session.

The ultimate product now focuses on the manufacture, sale, switch, and buy of any “prohibited firearm.” This new class contains semi-automatic shotguns with fastened magazines able to holding greater than six rounds, any shotgun with a revolving cylinder, and any semi-automatic pistol or rifle with a set journal able to holding greater than ten rounds.

The definition additionally incorporates the options check widespread amongst most state-level “assault weapon” bans, which renders any semi-automatic lengthy gun that accepts removable magazines unlawful if it has an adjustable inventory, a bayonet lug, pistol grip, grenade launcher, barrel shroud, thumbhole inventory, threaded barrel, or can settle for belt-fed ammunition. Violators of the brand new ban might withstand ten years in jail.

As soon as signed, the invoice would go into impact on July 1, 2026.

UPDATE 6-24-2025 6:58 PM EASTERN: This piece has been up to date with feedback from the Nationwide Capturing Sports activities Basis.