Rhode Island lawmakers pass bill to ban sales of assault weapons
[June 21, 2025]
By KIMBERLEE KRUESI and HALLIE GOLDEN
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Rhode Island’s Democratic-controlled state House
on Friday approved legislation that would ban the sale and manufacturing
of many semiautomatic rifles commonly referred to as assault weapons.
The proposal now heads to the desk of Democratic Gov. Dan McKee, who
said in a post on the social platform X on Friday evening that he plans
to sign the bill into law. If that happens, Rhode Island will join 10
states that have some sort of prohibition on high-powered firearms that
were once banned nationwide and are now largely the weapon of choice
among those responsible for most of the country’s devastating mass
shootings.
Gun control advocates have been pushing for an assault weapons ban in
Rhode Island for more than a decade. However, despite being a Democratic
stronghold, lawmakers throughout the country’s smallest state have long
quibbled over the necessity and legality of such proposals.
The bill only applies to the sale and manufacturing of assault weapons
and not possession. Only Washington state has a similar law. Residents
looking to purchase an assault weapon from nearby New Hampshire or
elsewhere will also be blocked. Federal law prohibits people from
traveling to a different state to purchase a gun and returning it to a
state where that particular of weapon is banned.
Nine states and the District of Columbia have bans on the possession of
assault weapons, covering major cities like New York and Los Angeles.
Hawaii bans assault pistols.
Democratic Rep. Rebecca Kislak described the bill during floor debates
Friday as an incremental move that brings Rhode Island in line with
neighboring states.
“I am gravely disappointed we are not doing more, and we should do
more," she said. "And given the opportunity to do this or nothing, I am
voting to do something.”
Critics of Rhode Island’s proposed law argued that assault weapons bans
do little to curb mass shootings and only punish people with such
rifles.
“This bill doesn’t go after criminals, it just puts the burden on
law-abiding citizens,” said Republican Sen. Thomas Paolino.
Republican Rep. Michael Chippendale, House minority leader, predicted
that if the legislation were to become law, the U.S. Supreme Court would
eventually deem it unconstitutional.
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Pedestrians walk past the Rhode Island Statehouse on March 1,
2020, in Providence, R.I. (AP Photo/David Goldman, File)
“We are throwing away money on this," he said.
It wasn’t just Republicans who opposed the legislation. David Hogg —
a gun control advocate who survived the 2018 school shooting in
Parkland, Florida — and the Rhode Island Coalition Against Gun
Violence described the proposed ban as the “weakest assault weapons
ban in the country.”
“I know that Rhode Islanders deserve a strong bill that not only
bans the sale, but also the possession of assault weapons. It is
this combination that equals public safety,” Hogg said in a
statement.
Elisabeth Ryan, policy counsel at Everytown for Gun Safety, rejected
claims that the proposed law is weak.
“The weakest law is what Rhode Island has now, no ban on assault
weapons,” Ryan said. “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.”
Nationally, assault weapons bans have been challenged in court by
gun rights groups that argue the bans violate the Second Amendment.
AR-15-style firearms are among the best-selling rifles in the
country.
The conservative-majority Supreme Court may soon take up the issue.
The justices declined to hear a challenge to Maryland’s assault
weapons ban in early June, but three conservative justices — Samuel
Alito, Neil Gorsuch and Clarence Thomas — publicly noted their
disagreement. A fourth, Brett Kavanaugh, indicated he was skeptical
that the bans are constitutional and predicted the court would hear
a case “in the next term or two.”
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