PROVIDENCE — Following approval of an amended version of the legislation in the State Senate earlier in the day, the House of Representatives followed suit to pass an assault weapons ban bill Friday evening, June 20.

The bills' main sponsors were East Bay members Sen. Louis DiPalma (D-Dist. 12, Middletown, Little Compton, Tiverton, Newport) and Representative Jason Knight (D-Dist. 67, Barrington, Warren).

Knight's original piece passed the House two weeks prior. DiPalma's legislation, altered in some key areas, went through the Senate this week, beginning with a Judiciary Committee vote on Wednesday, June 18. The full upper chamber approved the amended bill two days later.

Rhode Island becomes the 12th state, as well as the District of Columbia. to have some sort of ban on assault-style weapons.

The legislation prohibits the manufacture, purchase, sale, or transfer of certain firearms, sometimes referred to as military style weapons, including certain types of semi-automatic rifles and shotguns with a fixed magazine exceeding six rounds or a revolving cylinder. Individuals in lawful possession of the covered firearms can continue to possess them.

It includes exceptions for law enforcement agencies and federally licensed firearms dealers. Federally licensed dealers would still be authorized to accept the specified firearms and to sell them to other licensed dealers, law enforcement, or outside of the state to individuals who can lawfully possess them.

Criminal penalties for anyone convicted of violating the ban include up to 10 years in prison, or a fine up to $10,000, and forfeiture of the firearm. The bill would take effect on July 1, 2026 if signed into law by Gov. Dan McKee.

“This bill (2025-S 0359A) is the result of many, many years of advocacy, work and collaboration. Polls show that almost two-thirds of Rhode Islanders support banning assault-style weapons in our state. We all know the impact they’ve had in our country; they are the weapons that have been used in the most lethal mass shootings carried out in the United States,” said DiPalma. “This bill will end the proliferation of these weapons in our state and, as the experience in other states with similar bans has shown, will result in significantly fewer of them as time goes on.”

Knight also took the lead on the amended version received by the House from the Senate (2025-H 5436A).

“I’m pleased that my colleagues in the General Assembly have supported a bill that, when combined with existing federal law, turns off the spigot of AR-style weapons in Rhode Island and will diminish their numbers as well as gun violence in our state," Knight said after passage. "This bill is the culmination of immense effort on the part of so many people over the years, and it is the last remaining major recommendation of the gun-safety working group formed after the mass shooting in Parkland, Fla. These are the weapons of choice for mass shooters because they can inflict maximum death and injury in very little time, and we shouldn’t wait for a large-scale tragedy to prohibit their sale in our state.”

The bill was amended to include more precise definitions of the weapons that would be prohibited, and eliminate a requirement that owners of grandfathered weapons register them with local or state police. It also does not include a voluntary program, proposed in House-passed legislation, through which those who already own the specified weapons could get a certificate of possession from their local police department. Removal of this provision helps to assuage concerns that such language was tantamount to an unconstitutional gun registry.

“I commend Chairman DiPalma and Representative Knight for their incredible leadership, passion and dedication to achieving this significant step forward in preventing gun violence in our state, and I’m very proud of my colleagues in the General Assembly for standing up for this important public safety legislation,” said Senate President Valarie Lawson (D-Dist. 14, East Providence).

Some advocates of the bills were quick to issue support for its passage.

“Today, the legislature chose to put kids’ safety before the gun lobby, and for that I’m incredibly grateful,” said Mia Tretta,  a volunteer leader with the Brown University Students Demand Action chapter who was a victime of a gunshot wound suffered during a shooting at her high school in California.

She continued, “As a survivor of a school shooting, I know how devastating gun violence can be. No student, no community, should have to fear for their lives when they are at school, the park or the grocery store, especially from weapons designed for the battlefield. This law is a major step toward protecting our communities.”