Governor Dan McKee signs assault weapons ban bill into law

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) —

The ban will take effect July 1 of next year.

The bill only applies to the sale and manufacturing of assault weapons, not possession.

Rhode Island is now one of eleven states with some version of an assault-style weapons ban.

The most similar law to Rhode Island’s is in Washington state.

Rhode Island state leaders and gun safety advocates said this new law was decades in the making.

Gun control advocates like the Rhode Island Coalition Against Gun Violence celebrated the bill, but it has also been criticized as not going far enough.

Before its passage, the Rhode Island Senate amended the bill to eliminate the requirement for owners of grandfathered weapons to register them with state or local police.

While it doesn’t ban possession, it does prevent Rhode Islanders looking to purchase an assault-style weapon from traveling out of state to do so.

Federal law prevents people from traveling to different states to purchase a gun and returning it to a state where the weapon is banned.

Rhode Island House Minority Leader Michael Chippendale reacted to the ban’s passage saying in part:

This legislation is nothing more than an insult to the law-abiding firearm owners in Rhode Island. It criminalizes the continued lawful purchase of firearms that are legal, stored safely, and used responsibly.

And just as the 1994 federal assault weapons ban, it will not stop a single crime, as criminals simply don’t follow the laws of our state and nation.