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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2018

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A N   A C T

RELATING TO CRIMINAL OFFENSES -- WEAPONS

     Introduced By: Representatives Craven, McEntee, Knight, Carson, and Shekarchi

     Date Introduced: January 10, 2018

     Referred To: House Judiciary

It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

     SECTION 1. Section 11-47-2 of the General Laws in Chapter 11-47 entitled "Weapons"

is 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) "Bump fire stock" means any device which replaces a semi-automatic weapon's

standard stock and is designed to slide back and forth rapidly, harnessing the weapon's recoil to

rapidly fire the weapon.

     (3) "Binary trigger" means a device which replaces a standard trigger on a semi-

automatic weapon and is designed to fire one round on the pull of the trigger and another round

upon release of the trigger.

      (2)(4) "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)(5) "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)(6) "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)(7) "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)(8) "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)(9) "Person" includes an individual, partnership, firm, association, or corporation.

      (8)(10) "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)(11) "Sawed-off rifle" means any rifle with overall length of less than twenty-six

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

      (10)(12) "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)(13) "Sell" includes let or hire, give, lend, and transfer, and "purchase" includes hire,

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

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     (14) "Trigger crank" means a trigger actuator that attaches to the trigger of a semi-

automatic weapon and causes the weapon to fire by turning the crank handle.

     SECTION 2. Chapter 11-47 of the General Laws entitled "Weapons" is hereby amended

by adding thereto the following section:

     11-47-8.1. Modification of semi-automatic weapon.

     (a) It shall be unlawful for any person within this state to modify any semi-automatic

weapon such that it can shoot, is designed to shoot, or can be readily restored to shoot full

automatic fire with a single pull or hold of the trigger. The possession of such a modified semi-

automatic weapon shall be evidence of guilty knowledge by the person having possession that the

semi-automatic weapon was modified. Every person violating the provisions of this subsection

shall, upon conviction, be punished by imprisonment for not less than one year nor more than ten

(10) years, or by a fine up to ten thousand dollars ($10,000), or both, and, except for a first

conviction under this section, shall not be afforded the provisions of suspension or deferment of

sentence, nor a probation.

     (b) This section shall not apply to the purchase of any such device by the Rhode Island

state police, by any city or town police department of the state of Rhode Island, or by the

department of environmental management for display as a part of a firearms training course under

its auspices.

     (c) Weapons otherwise considered legal which are found modified by devices pursuant to

this section shall be subject to forfeiture pursuant to § 11-47-22.

     (d) This section shall not be construed to prohibit use of a replacement trigger or trigger

components designed and intended to decrease the weight of the trigger pull or to improve the

quality and release of the trigger pull in a semi-automatic weapon.

     SECTION 3. Section 11-47-8 of the General Laws in Chapter 11-47 entitled "Weapons"

is hereby amended to read as follows:

     11-47-8. License or permit required for carrying pistol -- Possession of machine gun.

     (a) No person shall, without a license or permit issued as provided in §§ 11-47-11, 11-47-

12 and 11-47-18, carry a pistol or revolver in any vehicle or conveyance or on or about his or her

person whether visible or concealed, except in his or her dwelling house or place of business or

on land possessed by him or her or as provided in §§ 11-47-9 and 11-47-10. The provisions of

these sections shall not apply to any person who is the holder of a valid license or permit issued

by the licensing authority of another state, or territory of the United States, or political

subdivision of the state or territory, allowing him or her to carry a pistol or revolver in any

vehicle or conveyance or on or about his or her person whether visible or concealed, provided the

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person is merely transporting the firearm through the state in a vehicle or other conveyance

without any intent on the part of the person to detain him or herself or remain within the state of

Rhode Island. No person shall manufacture, sell, purchase, or possess a machine gun except as

otherwise provided in this chapter. Every person violating the provision of this section shall, upon

conviction, be punished by imprisonment for not less than one nor more than ten (10) years, or by

a fine up to ten thousand dollars ($10,000), or both, and except for a first conviction under this

section shall not be afforded the provisions of suspension or deferment of sentence, nor a

probation.

     (b) No person shall have in his or her possession or under his or her control any sawed-

off shotgun or sawed-off rifle as defined in § 11-47-2. Any person convicted of violating this

subsection shall be punished by imprisonment for up to ten (10) years, or by a fine of up to five

thousand dollars ($5,000), or both.

     (c) No person shall have in his or her possession or under his or her control any firearm

while the person delivers, possesses with intent to deliver, or manufactures a controlled

substance. Any person convicted of violating this subsection shall be punished by imprisonment

for not less than two (2) years nor more than twenty (20) years, and the sentence shall be

consecutive to any sentence the person may receive for the delivery, possession with intent to

deliver, or the manufacture of the controlled substance. It shall not be a defense to a violation of

this subsection that a person has a license or permit to carry or possess a firearm.

     (d) It shall be unlawful for any person to possess a bump fire device, binary trigger, crank

trigger or any other device that when attached to a semi-automatic weapon allows full automatic

fire. Individuals who possess these items shall have ninety (90) days from the enactment of this

section to either sell, destroy or otherwise remove these items from the state of Rhode Island.

Every person violating the provisions of this section shall, upon conviction, be punished by

imprisonment for not less than one nor more than ten (10) years, or by a fine up to ten thousand

dollars ($10,000), or both, and, except for a first conviction under this section, shall not be

afforded the provisions of suspension or deferment of sentence, nor a probation.

     SECTION 4. This act shall take effect ninety days after passage of the act.

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EXPLANATION

BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

OF

A N   A C T

RELATING TO CRIMINAL OFFENSES -- WEAPONS

***

     This act would make possession of bump stocks, binary triggers or trigger cranks

punishable by up to ten (10) years imprisonment and/or up to a ten thousand dollar ($10,000)

fine, and would make it unlawful and apply the same penalties for any person within this state to

modify any semi-automatic weapon to shoot full automatic fire with a single pull or hold of the

trigger.

     This act would take effect ninety days after the passage of the act.

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