By Dave Workman
Editor-in-Chief
Emboldened by the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision last week to not grant review of a lawsuit challenging a ban on so-called “assault weapons” in Maryland, the Rhode Island House of Representatives voted 43-28 to enact a similar ban in the Plantation State.
According to GoLocalProv.com, the legislation now moves to the state Senate. The vote was hailed as a victory by the anti-gun Rhode Island Coalition Against Gun Violence. Executive Director Melissa Carden told the news she is confident Senate President Val Lawson “will make sure this legislation gets to the Senate floor for a vote.”
The bill is sponsored by Democrat State Rep. Jason Knight, who urged “our colleagues the Senate to pass this bill and make this the year we take action to end the proliferation of powerful weapons that enable mass shooters to kill as many victims as possible.”
The nine-page measure, H 5436, is dubbed the Rhode Island Assault Weapons Ban of 2025. If passed, it will take effect on July 1, 2026. Under provisions of the legislation, the future manufacture, sale, purchase, transfer and possession of certain types of rifles and semi-auto shotguns would be prohibited. The bill would not apply to retired law enforcement, active duty military or National Guard, federally licensed gun dealers and anyone who owned one of the targeted guns prior to the law’s effective date.
According to GoLocalProv.com, the bill was amended to create 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 weapon is grandfathered.”
Under this amendment, police would be prohibited from keeping a record of these certificates.
There is no guarantee this amendment will survive in the Senate, however.
Under another provision, “If the holder of a certificate to possess an assault weapon dies, or if the owner of an assault weapon which has been registered pursuant to this chapter dies, then the heir(s) or estate of the deceased person shall have one hundred eighty (180) days from the date of death to transfer the firearm to a federally licensed firearm dealer or person or firm lawfully entitled to own or possess such firearm; voluntarily surrender the firearm to the police department in the city or town where the deceased resided, or to the Rhode Island state police; remove the assault weapon from the state; within ninety (90) days of obtaining title, register the assault weapon in accordance with the provisions of § 11-47.2-4; or, render such weapon permanently inoperable.”
