2016 -- S 2519

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2016

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A N   A C T

RELATING TO CRIMINAL OFFENSES -- WEAPONS

     

     Introduced By: Senators Goodwin, Gallo, Lynch Prata, Miller, and Lombardo

     Date Introduced: February 25, 2016

     Referred To: Senate Judiciary

     (Attorney General)

It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

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     SECTION 1. Section 11-47-24 of the General Laws in Chapter 11-47 entitled "Weapons"

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is hereby amended to read as follows:

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     11-47-24. Alteration of marks of identification on firearms. -- (a) No person shall

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change, alter, remove, or obliterate the name of the maker, model, manufacturer's number, or if

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there is no name of the maker, model, or manufacturer's number then any other mark of

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identification on any firearm.

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      (b) No person shall, absent recertification paperwork, knowingly receive, transport, or

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possess any firearm which has had the name of the maker, or manufacturer's serial number, or

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any other mark of identification on any firearm removed, altered, or obliterated, or if there is no

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name of the maker, model, or manufacturer's number then any other mark of identification on any

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firearm.

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      (c) Possession of any firearm, absent recertification paperwork, upon which the name of

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the maker, model, manufacturer's number, or if there is no name of the maker, model, or

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manufacturer's number then any other mark of identification on any firearm has been changed,

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altered, removed, or obliterated shall be prima facie evidence that the possessor has changed,

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altered, removed, or obliterated.

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      (d) A person in possession of a firearm, with proof of ownership and/or transfer from a

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FFL dealer, may apply for recertification of that firearm from a Rhode Island based licensed

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firearms business owner who also is an FFL dealer or a local police chief and/or police

 

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department official if the name of the maker, model, manufacturer's number, or if there is no

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name of the maker, model, or manufacturer's number then any other mark of identification on the

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firearm has been only partially damaged.

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      (e) The Rhode Island based licensed firearms business owner who is also an FFL dealer

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or a local police chief and/or police department official shall, within sixty (60) days of the

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application if he or she is reasonably able to verify the firearm ownership and identifying marks

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recertify the firearm or return the firearm to the person who presented it, certify by written

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notarized documentation that the firearm's name of the maker, model, manufacturer's number, or

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if there is no name of the maker, model, or manufacturer's number then any other mark of

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identification on the firearm has been partially damaged and is still identifiable and traceable to

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the record owner.

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      (f) The sale or transfer of a recertified firearm and/or the submission of a report by the

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record owner that the firearm was stolen immediately voids all recertification documentation.

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      (g) Violation of the provisions of this section may be punished by imprisonment for not

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more than five (5) years.

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      (h) This section shall not apply to the lawful exchange of component parts of any

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firearms, nor to any antique and collectible weapons legally possessed by collectors and dealers

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of firearms as provided in section 11-47-25.

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     (i) For purposes of this section, the term "mark of identification" means and shall include,

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but not be limited to, orange or otherwise brightly colored plugs or tips inserted into the barrel of

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any firearm.

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     SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.

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EXPLANATION

BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

OF

A N   A C T

RELATING TO CRIMINAL OFFENSES -- WEAPONS

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     This act would include orange or otherwise brightly colored plugs or tips inserted into the

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barrel of any firearm into the definition of "mark of identification" for those persons who change,

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alter, remove, or obliterate any mark of identification on a firearm.

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     This act would take effect upon passage.

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