State lawmakers unveil 9-bill gun safety plan

RHODE ISLAND'S LAWMAKERS unveiled a nine-bill gun safety plan at a press conference Tuesday afternoon. / BLOOMBERG FILE PHOTO/PATRICK T. FALLON
RHODE ISLAND'S LAWMAKERS unveiled a nine-bill gun safety plan at a press conference Tuesday afternoon. / BLOOMBERG FILE PHOTO/PATRICK T. FALLON

PROVIDENCE – State lawmakers, Gov. Lincoln D. Chafee and Attorney General Peter F. Kilmartin have unveiled a nine-bill plan to help “improve gun safety and strengthen existing laws dealing with firearm violations.”

The bills, which were unveiled at a press conference Tuesday afternoon, propose bans on assault weapons and high capacity magazines, and the institution of background and mental health checks. The bills will be introduced in either one or both of the state’s legislative chambers.

“The tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School sounded a wake-up call for all of us,” Speaker of the House Gordon D. Fox said in prepared remarks. “For the last several months, we have been reviewing our firearms laws and our mental health procedures,” said Fox. “The package will give law enforcement the tools they need to address gun-related criminal activity and better identify individuals who are a danger to themselves or others.”

The nine bills that are part of the package are as follows:

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  • Gun Control and Safe Firearms Act: This bill bans the manufacture, sale, purchase or possession of semi-automatic assault weapons after July 1, 2013. It also bans high-capacity magazines, belts, drums, feed strips or similar devices manufactured on or after July 1. It does not apply if the weapon is an antique, is inoperable, or was manufactured prior to July 1, 1963, and does not apply to an attached tubular device capable of operating only with .22 caliber rimfire ammunition.
  • Firearms Violations: This bill increases the maximum penalty for carrying a stolen firearm when committing a crime of violence from 10 years to 15 years for a first offense. It makes it unlawful for anyone to possess a stolen firearm, setting a penalty of not less than three years or more than 15 years in prison.
  • Behavioral Health and Firearms Safety Task Force: The bill creates a task force charged with making recommendations and possibly proposing legislation to support full participation in the NICS (National Instant Criminal Background Check System) Index and to act in an advisory capacity to the Relief for Disqualifiers Board.
  • Relief for Disqualifiers Board: This bill creates a board to which individuals can appeal if they are denied a firearm based on a mental health adjudication or commitment or on substance abuse backgrounds as reported in the NICS Index. The board will be composed of a psychiatrist, a psychologist, a member of law enforcement, the director of the R.I. Department of Behavioral Healthcare, Developmental Disabilities and Hospitals, and the Mental Health Advocate.
  • Firearms Task Force: The bill creates a task force to review gun laws in Rhode Island, reporting back to the governor and General Assembly by January 1, 2014.
  • Background Checks and Attorney General Permits: These bills would require a person requesting a license or permit to carry a pistol or revolver to undergo national criminal background checks and will make the Attorney General’s office the license and/or permitting authority, as requested by local law enforcement officials.
  • Weapons Laws: This bill will increase penalties for violations of existing weapons statutes and will make straw purchasing of weapons a crime.
  • Possession of Firearm by Minor: These bills make it illegal for anyone under 18 to possess a firearm unless they are involved in a competition, hunting or are accompanied by a parent or qualified adult over 21 who is licensed to possess and use the firearm, in a ceremony, reserve officer training or in firearms education or going back and forth to a range or camp or are engaged in lawful hunting activity.
  • Alteration of Firearm Numbers: These bills make it illegal to manufacture, sell, purchase or possess any firearm that has an altered, obliterated or removed mark of identification, including but not limited to the ID of the maker, model or other identifying marker. The bills do not apply to antiques.

“This is the beginning of an important conversation taking place in every state in the nation and at the federal level,” said President of the Senate M. Teresa Paiva Weed in a statement. “We took a very methodical approach in the development of this legislation. I look forward to a vigorous public dialogue and a thorough committee vetting of the ideas presented today.”

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