After securing a big win at the federal level Monday, Rhode Island’s gun safety advocates are hoping the momentum continues at the State House Tuesday when a House panel will consider an amended bill to ban assault-style firearms.
The U.S. Supreme Court declined to take up a challenge by gun rights advocates against the state’s 2022 law banning firearm magazines that hold more than 10 rounds of ammunition.
Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha said in a statement he’s grateful the court did not overturn the ban.
“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,” Neronha said. “One life lost to gun violence is one too many.”
The 15-member House Committee on Judiciary meets Tuesday at 3 p.m. to consider advancing amended legislation sponsored by Rep. Jason Knight, a Barrington Democrat, to the floor for a full vote by the chamber.
Knight’s bill has support from 38 of the House’s 75 members. Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi has previously indicated support for a ban on assault-style weapons.
The proposal includes revisions based on feedback from a March 26 Judiciary Committee hearing where hundreds of Second Amendment advocates in yellow T-shirts outnumbered gun safety advocates.
Under Knight’s bill, assault weapons are defined as semiautomatic rifles, pistols, and shotguns equipped with accessories such as pistol grips, folding stocks, or threaded barrels. The amended version removed bayonet mounts and certain .22 caliber rimfire rifles and Olympic-style target pistols from the definition.
The amended legislation now takes effect July 1, 2026, rather than Jan. 1, 2026. Knight said the new date was picked in order to give store owners more time to prepare for the change, and for state and local police to develop a voluntary firearm certification program for assault-style weapons acquired ahead of the ban.
Knight’s original legislation proposed that grandfathered weapons be registered with state or local police. Weapons acquired ahead of the ban would continue to be exempt from the legislation, but the amended bill also exempts firearms passed down through a family.
The amended bill now exempts retired law enforcement officers. That’s in addition to active police and members of the armed forces who would be allowed to keep assault-style weapons under the original bill.
“We got rid of one or two things upon reflection we probably did not need,” Knight said in an interview Monday.
“The vast majority of Rhode Islanders want this policy change,” he added, acknowledging two recent polls that found widespread support for banning assault weapons.
A University of New Hampshire poll released May 29 found that 55% of the 653 residents surveyed were in favor of banning the sale and manufacture of firearms with “military-style features.” A February poll conducted for the Rhode Island AFL-CIO found 64% of Rhode Islanders support the ban.
‘It’s our responsibility’
Knight has backed legislation to ban assault-style weapons since 2018 — the same year then-Gov. Gina Raimondo established a gun-safety working group after a gunman killed 17 students in Parkland Florida with an AR-15.
“You see random acts of violence that involve multiple victims stepping up,” Knight said. “It’s our responsibility as a legislature to provide public order and safety.”
What’s not changing in the amended bill: Violators of the proposed ban would face up to 10 years in prison, a fine of up to $10,000 and forfeiture of their assault-style weapon.
“It’s a good bill,” Melissa Carden, executive director of the Rhode Island Coalition Against Gun Violence, said in an interview. “This is really momentous. This is the reason that the coalition was formed, it’s been our priority for a really long time.”
But Knight’s changers are still not enough to appease gun rights advocates, who remain opposed to the proposed ban.
“Their concern is passing a bill for the win, and not reducing gun violence,” Glenn Valentine, president of the Rhode Island Second Amendment PAC, said in a text message Monday.
The Gaspee Project, a nonprofit that touts its opposition to progressive and “special interest” policies on its website, took to social media Friday evening to urge gun owners to keep opposing Knight’s legislation.
“This amended version is just as awful as the original,” the group wrote on X.
Companion legislation is filed in the Senate by Lou DiPalma, a Middletown Democrat, where the bill has 23 additional sponsors — including Senate President Valarie Lawson. DiPalma’s bill was heard by the Senate Committee on Judiciary on May 14 where it was held for further study
The bill has not been scheduled for the committee’s consideration as of Monday.
This story was originally published by the Rhode Island Current.
