2017 -- S 0412

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LC001239

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2017

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A N   A C T

RELATING TO CRIMINAL OFFENSES -- WEAPONS

     Introduced By: Senator Maryellen Goodwin

     Date Introduced: March 02, 2017

     Referred To: Senate Judiciary

     (Attorney General)

It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

     SECTION 1. Chapter 11-47 of the General Laws entitled "Weapons" is hereby amended

by adding thereto the following section:

     11-47-24.1. Alteration of distinctive markings of imitation firearms.

     (a) No person shall change, alter, remove, obliterate any coloration or markings that are

required by an applicable state or federal law or regulation, including, but not limited to, 15

U.S.C. 5001, as amended, for any imitation firearm in any way that make the imitation firearm

look like an operable firearm, as defined in this chapter.

     (b) Any violation of this section shall be, upon conviction, subject to imprisonment of up

to one year, a fine of up to one thousand dollars ($1,000), or both.

     (c) This section shall not apply to lawful use of such an imitation firearm in theatrical

productions, including motion pictures, television, and stage production.

     SECTION 2. Sections 11-47-2 and 11-47-24 of the General Laws in Chapter 11-47

entitled "Weapons" are hereby amended to read as follows:

     11-47-2. Definitions.

     When used in this chapter, the following words and phrases are construed as follows:

     (1) "Antique firearm" is defined as that term is defined under the provisions of 18 U.S.C.

§ 921.

     (2) "Crime of violence" means and includes any of the following crimes or an attempt to

commit any of them: murder, manslaughter, rape, first or second degree sexual assault, first or

second degree child molestation, kidnapping, first and second degree arson, mayhem, robbery,

burglary, breaking and entering, any felony violation involving the illegal manufacture, sale, or

delivery of a controlled substance, or possession with intent to manufacture, sell, or deliver a

controlled substance classified in schedule I or schedule II of § 21-28-2.08, any violation of § 21-

28-4.01.1 or 21-28-4.01.2 or conspiracy to commit any violation of these statutes, assault with a

dangerous weapon, assault or battery involving grave bodily injury, and/or assault with intent to

commit any offense punishable as a felony; upon any conviction of an offense punishable as a

felony offense under § 12-29-5.

     (3) "Firearm" includes any machine gun, pistol, rifle, air rifle, air pistol, "blank gun," "BB

gun," or other instrument from which steel or metal projectiles are propelled, or which may

readily be converted to expel a projectile, except crossbows, recurve, compound, or longbows,

and except instruments propelling projectiles which are designed or normally used for a primary

purpose other than as a weapon. The frame or receiver of the weapon shall be construed as a

firearm under the provisions of this section.

     (4) "Fugitive from justice" means any person who has fled from any state, territory, the

District of Columbia, or possession of the United States to avoid prosecution for a crime of

violence or to avoid giving testimony in any criminal proceeding.

     (5) "Licensing authorities" means the board of police commissioners of a city or town

where the board has been instituted, the chief of police or superintendent of police of other cities

and towns having a regular organized police force, and, in towns where there is no chief of police

or superintendent of police, it means the town clerk who may issue licenses upon the

recommendation of the town sergeant, and it also means any other person or body duly authorized

by the city or town charter or by state law.

     (6) "Machine gun" means any weapon which shoots, is designed to shoot, or can be

readily restored to shoot automatically more than one shot, without manual reloading, by a single

function of the trigger. The term also includes the frame or receiver of the weapon, any

combination of parts designed and intended for use in converting a weapon into a machine gun,

and any combination of parts from which a machine gun can be assembled if the parts are in the

possession or under the control of a person.

     (7) "Person" includes an individual, partnership, firm, association, or corporation.

     (8) "Pistol" includes any pistol or revolver, and any shotgun, rifle, or similar weapon with

overall length less than twenty-six inches (26"), but does not include any pistol or revolver

designed for the use of blank cartridges only.

     (9) "Sawed-off rifle" means any rifle with overall length of less than twenty-six inches

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(26") and/or barrel length of less than sixteen inches (16").

     (10) "Sawed-off shotgun" means any shotgun with overall length of less than twenty-six

inches (26") and/or barrel length of less than eighteen inches (18").

     (11) "Sell" includes let or hire, give, lend, and transfer, and "purchase" includes hire,

accept, and borrow, and "purchasing" shall be construed accordingly.

     (12) "Imitation firearm" means any toy gun, replica of a firearm, or other device that is so

substantially similar in coloration and overall appearance to a firearm, as defined in this chapter,

as to lead a reasonable person to perceive that device as a firearm.

     11-47-24. Alteration of marks of identification on firearms.

     (a) No person shall change, alter, remove, insert, or obliterate the name of the maker,

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

maker, model, or manufacturer's number then any other mark of identification on any firearm.

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

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

number, or any other mark of identification on any firearm changed, removed, altered, inserted or

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

mark of identification on any firearm.

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

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

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

identification on any firearm has been changed, altered, removed, inserted or obliterated shall be

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

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

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

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

department official if the name of the maker, model, manufacturer's number, or any other mark of

identification on any firearm, or if there is no name of the maker, model, or manufacturer's

number then any other mark of identification on the firearm has been only partially damaged.

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

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

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

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

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

any other mark of identification on any firearm, 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 the firearm has been partially

damaged and is still identifiable and traceable to the record owner.

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

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

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

more than five (5) years.

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

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

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

     (i) This section shall not apply to lawful use of such a firearm in theatrical productions,

including motion pictures, television, and stage productions.

     (j) This section shall not be construed to apply to safety devices that are used to prevent

the unintentional discharge of a firearm.

     (k) For purposes of this section, the term "mark of identification" means and includes, but

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

firearm.

     SECTION 3. 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

***

     This act would define imitation firearm and provide that is unlawful for any person to

change, alter, remove, or obliterate any coloration or makings that are required by an applicable

state or federal law or regulation for any imitation firearm in any way that makes the imitation

firearm look to be an operable firearm. Violation of this section would be punishable by

imprisonment for up to one year, or a fine of up to one thousand dollars ($1,000), or both.

     This act would also prevent a person from receiving or possessing a firearm on which any

mark of identification on the firearm has been changed.

     This act would take effect upon passage.

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