RI Governor, AG Unveil Package Of Gun Reform Bills

PROVIDENCE, RI — Governor Gina Raimondo and Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha announced a package of bills Thursday that would bring sweeping reforms to the state's gun control laws. The four new bills complement four others which were already introduced in the General Assembly during the current legislative session.

"In just the past few months, we've seen horrific acts of gun violence across the country and here at home in communities like Westerly and Pawtucket," Gov. Raimondo said. "We owe it to Rhode Islanders to pass common-sense gun safety measures, and we simply cannot wait any longer. I'm proud to support these critical reforms, and I'm grateful to my colleagues in the General Assembly who wasted no time in introducing potentially lifesaving legislation."

The four bills address issues of ownership, safety in schools, safe storage and having a rifle or shotgun on a public road. A brief description of each is listed below.

• Straw Purchasers: Makes it a crime to purchase a firearm on behalf of another person who the purchaser knows or suspects would be prohibited from purchasing or possessing a gun themselves.
• Safe Schools: Prevents people with concealed carry permits from carrying weapons on school grounds. This legislation includes exceptions for active and retired law enforcement.
• Safe Storage: Requires that all firearms be stored safely (i.e., locked and unloaded) unless under the direct control of the firearm owner or another authorized user.
• Rifles and Shotguns on Public Roads: Prohibits loaded rifles and shotguns from being carried on public rights of way in Rhode Island, either within or outside a vehicle. This legislation includes exemptions for law enforcement and hunters engaged in lawful hunting activity.

"My office sees the fallout from gun violence every day, particularly on victims and their families,” AG Neronha said. "Certainly, aggressive prosecution of those who engage in such conduct is warranted and is among this Office’s highest priorities. Yet there is still more to do on the prevention side – to keep guns out the hands of those of those shouldn’t have them in the first place, for mental health and other reasons; to make unavailable certain kinds of firearms that can cause the most damage to Rhode Islanders; and to ensure that firearms are safely stored and kept. The legislation announced today advances all of these goals, and this Office strongly supports all of them."

The governor and attorney general also voiced their support for bans on 3D-printed, or "ghost" guns, a ban on assault weapons including semi-automatic, shotguns and pistols that hold high-capacity magazines, the closure of a loophole that circumvents background checks and a ban on high-capacity magazines. The "ghost gun" bill was approved by the full Senate and awaits approval by the House of Representatives.

"While I am a strong proponent of people’s right to bear arms, these devices simply lack the safety, reliability and accountability of conventional firearms and have become a menace to society," said Representative Patricia Serpa, the sponsor of one of the bills.

The announcement comes nearly one year to the day after Raimondo introduced a similar package of gun reform bills, marking the anniversary of the Parkland High School shooting in Florida.