3 Gun Control Measures In RI On Cusp Of Becoming Law

PROVIDENCE, RI — Three gun control bills are on the cusp of becoming law after they passed the Rhode Island Senate Tuesday night.

If signed into law by Gov. Dan McKee, the package of bills will limit magazine capacities to 10 rounds, raise the age from 18 to 21 to buy guns and ammunition and ban the open carry of loaded shotguns and rifles in public.

The magazine ban legislation passed the state Senate 25-11, after passing in the House Friday 43-26. The bill package's passage came three weeks after the Uvalde, Texas, school massacre, which killed 19 students and two teachers.

“Uvalde. Buffalo. Sandy Hook. Parkland. Las Vegas. Orlando. Sutherland Springs. Boulder. Aurora… the list goes on," said Rep. Justine Caldwell (D-East Greenwich). "High-capacity magazines have enabled mass shooters to commit the most devastating, appalling, and most lethal attacks on the public in recent decades. With this bill, we are finally saying we will not tolerate these dangerous weapons."

The bill to age the legal age to buy a gun and ammunition passed the Senate 31-5 and the House 52-16.

"People under the age of 21 are already prohibited from buying handguns in Rhode Island, but an 18-year-old — someone who might even still be in high school — can buy rifles and shotguns, including the powerful weapons that are often used in mass shootings," said Senate Majority Whip Maryellen Goodwin (D). "It is well-settled science that teenage and post-teenage brains are still developing. It’s common sense that we shouldn’t be selling lethal weapons to people who we’ve decided are not old enough to buy cigarettes or beer."

All three bills now move to McKee's office for his signature. Following the school shooting in Texas, McKee called for state lawmakers to take immediate action.

"Too many lives have been tragically cut short by senseless gun violence across our nation — we cannot allow this to continue," McKee said in a statement following the shooting. "We need action now, here in Rhode Island and in our nation's capital."