Rhode Island lawmakers pass bill to ban sales of assault weapons

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Rhode Island’s Democratic-controlled authorities House connected Friday approved authorities that would prohibition the merchantability and manufacturing of galore semiautomatic rifles commonly referred to arsenic battle weapons.

The connection present heads to the table of Democratic Gov. Dan McKee, who has said helium supports battle weapons bans. If the measure is signed into law, Rhode Island volition articulation 10 states that person immoderate benignant of prohibition connected high-powered firearms that were erstwhile banned nationwide and are present mostly the limb of prime among those liable for astir of the country’s devastating wide shootings.

Gun power advocates person been pushing for an battle weapons prohibition successful Rhode Island for much than a decade. However, contempt being a Democratic stronghold, lawmakers passim the country’s smallest authorities person agelong quibbled implicit the necessity and legality of specified proposals.

The measure lone applies to the merchantability and manufacturing of battle weapons and not possession. Only Washington authorities has a similar law. Residents looking to acquisition an battle limb from adjacent New Hampshire oregon elsewhere volition besides beryllium blocked. Federal instrumentality prohibits radical from traveling to a antithetic authorities to acquisition a weapon and returning it to a authorities wherever that peculiar of limb is banned.

Nine states and the District of Columbia person bans connected the possession of battle weapons, covering large cities similar New York and Los Angeles. Hawaii bans battle pistols.

Democratic Rep. Rebecca Kislak described the measure during level debates Friday arsenic an incremental determination that brings Rhode Island successful enactment with neighboring states.

“I americium gravely disappointed we are not doing more, and we should bash more," she said. "And fixed the accidental to bash this oregon nothing, I americium voting to bash something.”

Critics of Rhode Island’s projected instrumentality argued that battle weapons bans bash small to curb wide shootings and lone punish radical with specified rifles.

“This measure doesn’t spell aft criminals, it conscionable puts the load connected law-abiding citizens,” said Republican Sen. Thomas Paolino.

Republican Rep. Michael Chippendale, House number leader, predicted that if the authorities were to go law, the U.S. Supreme Court would yet deem it unconstitutional.

“We are throwing distant wealth connected this," helium said.

It wasn’t conscionable Republicans who opposed the legislation. David Hogg — a gun power advocate who survived the 2018 schoolhouse shooting successful Parkland, Florida — and the Rhode Island Coalition Against Gun Violence described the projected prohibition arsenic the “weakest battle weapons prohibition successful the country.”

“I cognize that Rhode Islanders merit a beardown measure that not lone bans the sale, but besides the possession of battle weapons. It is this operation that equals nationalist safety,” Hogg said successful a statement.

Elisabeth Ryan, argumentation counsel astatine Everytown for Gun Safety, rejected claims that the projected instrumentality is weak.

“The weakest instrumentality is what Rhode Island has now, nary prohibition connected battle weapons,” Ryan said. “This would make a real, enforceable prohibition connected the merchantability and manufacture of battle weapons, conscionable similar the instrumentality already moving successful Washington state, getting them disconnected the shelves of Rhode Island weapon stores erstwhile and for all.”

Nationally, battle weapons bans person been challenged successful tribunal by weapon rights groups that reason the bans interruption the Second Amendment. AR-15-style firearms are among the best-selling rifles successful the country.

The conservative-majority Supreme Court whitethorn soon instrumentality up the issue. The justices declined to perceive a situation to Maryland’s battle weapons prohibition successful aboriginal June, but 3 blimpish justices — Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch and Clarence Thomas — publically noted their disagreement. A fourth, Brett Kavanaugh, indicated helium was skeptical that the bans are law and predicted the tribunal would perceive a lawsuit “in the adjacent word oregon two.”

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Golden reported from Seattle. Associated Press writers David Lieb successful Jefferson City, Missouri and Lindsay Whitehurst successful Washington, D.C. contributed to this report.