1 of 19 gun safety bills moves to the RI Senate floor, assault weapon ban stalls

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — It was a busy day at the State House, as the Senate Judiciary Committee heard a swarm of bills on firearm regulation for nearly four hours.

Community members and advocates came out to weigh-in on these controversial issues.

Nineteen gun legislation bills were heard during Tuesday’s senate judiciary committee, with a safe storage bill being sent to the senate floor.

The bill would penalize Rhode Islanders for not keeping firearms safely locked away or equipped with safety measures, punishable by a fine starting at $250.

Another key bill among that mass of legislation was a proposal for a full ban on assault weapons in the Ocean State.

There were hours of comment on Smith Hill Tuesday afternoon, covering everything from safe storage to concealed carry laws and the proposal of a new safety test.

Dozens spoke on either side of the aisle about Senate Bill 2653, the Rhode Island assault weapons ban of 2024.

A Providence police officer’s mother gave emphatic testimony in support of the ban.

“No mother of a cop needs to be losing sleep, because I know my son would charge into Uvalde,” she said. “He shows up every time there’s a kid on a call. He’ll rush in there and he’s going to lose his life as they shoot all these automatic weapons. I know it.”

Rhode Island NRA’s president, Frank Saccoccio, spoke out against the bill.

“We had an assault weapons bill all across the nation for ten years,” Saccoccio said. “Two governmental agencies did an extensive research on this. Both of them came back with the exact same thing. No measurable decrease in crime based on that.”

The ban was a focus for Governor Dan McKee during his State of the State address and a talking point across the country, but the bill, along with nearly every other bill proposed, was held for further study.

The safe storage bill, however, will see the senate floor.

“Senator McKenney moves that we pass Senate Bill 2202, seconded by Senator Bissaillo,” said Representative Dawn Euer, a Democrat from District 13. “All those in favor? Any opposed?”

The bill moved forward 9-3.

While the assault weapons ban did not move to the floor, a similar ban is also moving through the house this year.

Both of the assault weapon bans have grandfather clauses that would allow current assault weapon owners to keep them if the bills made it through the legislature.