2019 -- S 0464

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LC001608

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2019

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A N   A C T

RELATING TO CRIMINAL OFFENSES -- WEAPONS

     

     Introduced By: Senators Coyne, Goodwin, Sosnowski, Felag, and Lynch Prata

     Date Introduced: February 27, 2019

     Referred To: Senate Judiciary

     (Attorney General)

It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

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     SECTION 1. Section 11-47-2 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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     11-47-2. Definitions.

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

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

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§ 921.

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     (2) "Binary trigger" means a device that replaces a standard trigger on a semi-automatic

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

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of the trigger.

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     (3) "Bump-fire stock" means any device that replaces a semi-automatic weapon's

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

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rapidly fire the weapon.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

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

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

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felony offense under § 12-29-5.

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

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

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

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

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purpose other than as a weapon. The frame or receiver, including an unfinished frame or receiver

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of the weapon shall be construed as a firearm under the provisions of this section. Any

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combination of parts designed or intended for use in converting any device into a firearm and

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from which a firearm may be readily assembled shall be construed as a firearm.

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

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

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violence or to avoid giving testimony in any criminal proceeding.

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

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

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

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

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

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by the city or town charter or by state law.

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     (8) "Machine gun" means any weapon that shoots, is designed to shoot, or can be readily

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

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

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

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

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possession or under the control of a person.

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

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

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

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designed for the use of blank cartridges only.

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

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

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

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

 

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

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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-

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

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     (15) The term "frame or receiver" means the part of a firearm that can provide the action

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or housing for the hammer, bolt, or breechblock and firing mechanism. It includes a frame or

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lower receiver blank, casting or machined body that requires further machining or molding to be

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used as part of a functional firearm and which is designed and intended to be used in the assembly

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of a functional firearm. The term does not include a piece of material that has had:

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     (i) Its size or external shape altered solely to facilitate transportation or storage; or

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     (ii) Solely its chemical composition altered.

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     (16) The term "ghost gun" means a firearm, including a frame or receiver, that lacks a

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unique serial number engraved or cased in metal or metal alloy on the frame or receiver by a

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licensed manufacturer or importer under federal law. It does not include a firearm that has been

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rendered permanently inoperable.

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     (17) The term "undetectable firearm" is defined under the terms of 18 U.S.C. § 922(p).

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     SECTION 2. Section 11-47-8 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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     11-47-8. License or permit required for carrying pistol -- Possession of machine gun.

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License or permit required for carrying a pistol -- Machine gun and other weapons

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prohibited.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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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

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

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

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

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

 

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

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

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probation.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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enactment of this section to either sell, destroy, or otherwise remove these items from the state of

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Rhode Island. Every person violating the provisions of this section shall, upon conviction, be

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

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ten thousand dollars ($10,000), or both, and, except for a first conviction under this section, shall

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not be afforded the provisions of suspension or deferment of sentence, nor a probation.

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     (e) No person shall manufacture, sell, purchase, or possess a machine gun except as

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

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conviction, be punished by imprisonment for not less than two (2) nor more than twenty (20)

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years, or by a fine up to twenty thousand dollars ($20,000), or both, and except for a first

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

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sentence, nor probation.

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     (f) No person shall manufacture, sell, offer to sell, transfer, purchase, possess, or have

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under his or her control a ghost gun or an undetectable firearm. Any person convicted of violating

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this subsection shall be punished by imprisonment of not more than ten (10) years, or by a fine up

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to ten thousand dollars ($10,000), and except for a first conviction under this section shall not be

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

 

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     SECTION 3. This act shall take effect upon passage.

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LC001608

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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 define the term "ghost gun" and bans the manufacture, sale purchase or

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possession of a machine gun, a ghost gun or an undetectable firearm.

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     This act would take effect upon passage.

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