Vote first, ask questions later: Senate panel quickly advances reworked assault weapons ban

The Rhode Island Senate Committee on Judiciary wasted no time Wednesday in advancing controversial legislation calling for a ban on the manufacture and sale of assault-style weapons for a floor vote.

In less than five minutes, the committee voted 8-6 to advance the amended legislation sponsored by Sen. Lou DiPalma, a Middletown Democrat, for consideration by the full chamber Friday, just in time for the tentative end of the 2025 legislative session.

DiPalma’s bill would prohibit the sale and manufacturing — but not the possession —  of assault-style shotguns, handguns, and rifles beginning July 1, 2026. Violators would face up to 10 years in prison, a fine of up to $10,000 and would have to forfeit their weapons.

That mostly mirrors the companion legislation that passed the House June 5 by Rep. Jason Knight, a Barrington Democrat. DiPalma’s new bill does away with a voluntary weapon certification program, which itself was amended from a mandate that grandfathered weapons be registered with law enforcement — a provision that drew the ire of pro-Second Amendment advocates.

Joining the committee to ensure the bill’s passage were new Senate President Valarie Lawson and Majority Leader Frank Ciccone — who used their ex-officio roles to vote. Senate Republican leaders Jessica de la Cruz and Gordon Rogers voted against the measure.

“The bill prevents further sales, and I think that’s the most important piece here,” Lawson said in an interview on the Senate floor.

The historic advancement to the floor drew dozens of gun safety and Second Amendment advocates into the third-floor committee room. But if they were hoping to hear any lively debate on the legislation, it didn’t happen — save for Sen. Leonaidas Raptakis, a Coventry Democrat who spoke in opposition to the bill.

“No form of a firearms ban is acceptable under the guise of making us safer, it’s ridiculous,” Raptakis said. “If anything, we are less safe because law-abiding citizens will not be able to buy weapons to keep themselves next year.”

Companion legislation that passed the House June 5 by Rep. Jason Knight, a Barrington Democrat, was held by the committee for further study. 

That means the fate of one of Gov. Dan McKee’s top legislative priorities depends whether both chambers can agree on one version of a proposed assault weapons ban. House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi opted to withhold comment until the entire Senate considers the bill.

“The final bill is subject to change on the Senate floor, so it would be premature to comment at this time,” Shekarchi said in a statement.

Knight also declined to comment on the Senate’s Judiciary Committee’s action, but indicated he remains optimistic about his amended proposal.

“The session’s not over until it’s over,” Knight said in a phone call.

Questions remain on Senate proposal

Ciccone, a Providence Democrat and federally licensed firearms dealer who had opposed DiPalma’s original bill, said he was swayed to give his support following the changes made — namely the decision to no longer outlaw the possession of assault-style weapons.

“This has the ability to help our citizens and protects everyone,” Ciccone told reporters.

But in effect, that could allow someone to purchase a weapon in another state where such sales are legal. At least that’s the interpretation of Frank Saccoccio, president of the Rhode Island Second Amendment Coalition.

“That bill only covers Rhode Island purchases, not out-of-state,” Saccoccio said in an interview. “I still say it’s terrible — it will lead to a lot of confusion, a lot of people will not know how to comply.”

However, committee chairman Matthew LaMountain, a Warwick Democrat, told Rhode Island Current that federal law is clear in prohibiting firearm purchases across state lines.

“This is about reducing the number of available prohibited firearms in the current population,” he said. “Both bills would have done that, but this has a different spin on it.”

Gun safety advocates are split on whether the Senate’s proposal will achieve that goal.

Monisha Henley, senior vice president of government affairs for Everytown for Gun Safety, called the Senate’s rework “a massive step forward” in limiting access to assault-style firearms.

But the head of the Rhode Island Coalition Against Gun Violence believes the legislation is just a weakened version of what was passed in the House.

“The bill that passed in the House was supported by advocates and organizations representing so many different constituencies, all five of our general officers, and local leaders across the state,” Executive Director Melissa Carden said in a statement Wednesday. “We also know that we must always be willing to compromise to make progress and the bill that passed the House is the result of that compromise – it also has majority support in the Senate.”

Sen. Dawn Euer, a Newport Democrat who voted to advance the bill, said she hopes the chamber will revise DiPalma’s bill on the floor to match its counterpart in the House.

“If they don’t, I am happy to bring up that amendment,” she said. “I think that is more reflective of the bill 24 senators sponsored.”

DiPalma said he understands advocates’ calls for stricter language, but “you can’t let the enemy of better be good enough.”

“And this bill maintains the nucleus of the bills that we had,” DiPalma said.

Correction: An earlier version of this story did not acknowledge that the Senate could amend its version of the legislation on the floor to pass the same legislation that already passed the House. The earlier version had said the fate of the legislation relied on the House accepting the revisions made across the rotunda.