Yesterday, April 25, the Senate Judiciary Committee heard testimony on several bills of serious concern to Rhode Island sportsmen. The committee decided to hold these bills for further study so they could review all testimony received and will decide at a later date whether to bring the bills forward or keep them in the committee without a vote.
Senate Bill 363 authorizes municipalities to enact an ordinance, regulation or other law governing or prohibiting the sale, purchase, transfer or possession of a firearm, ammunition, firearm component or accessory. S 363 will open the floodgates for localities to institute their own gun-control legislation, leading to a patchwork of gun restrictions, and many local jurisdictions will go immediately to outright firearm and possession bans.
Senate Bill 379 redefines several commonly owned semi-automatic rifles, pistols and shotguns as “assault weapons” and bans the possession, manufacture, purchase, sale and transfer of these “assault weapons.” A person who owns a newly redefined “assault weapon” will have to register that “assault weapon” with the local police department, surrender it to the local police department or transfer or sell it to a federally licensed firearm dealer within one year of the bill’s effective date.
Senate Bill 647 prohibits those under 21 from purchasing a rifle or shotgun and is poised to destroy the firearm freedoms of law-abiding young Americans who shoot, hunt or defend themselves with a firearm.
The Sportsmen’s Alliance will continue to monitor the legislative session and will email you when action is needed. In the meantime, check out our legislative map to see the other bills the Sportsmen’s Alliance is watching in Rhode Island and around the nation.
bout the Sportsmen’s Alliance: The Sportsmen’s Alliance protects and defends America’s wildlife conservation programs and the pursuits – hunting, fishing and trapping – that generate the money to pay for them. Sportsmen’s Alliance Foundation is responsible for public education, legal defense and research. Its mission is accomplished through several distinct programs coordinated to provide the most complete defense capability possible. Stay connected to Sportsmen’s Alliance: Online, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
