Chapter 417
2008 -- S 2704
SUBSTITUTE A AS AMENDED
Enacted 07/08/08
A N A C T
RELATING
TO CRIMINAL OFFENSES -- WEAPONS
Introduced
By: Senators McCaffrey, and Maselli
Date
Introduced: February 26, 2008
It is enacted by the General Assembly as
follows:
SECTION 1. Section
11-47-22 of the General Laws in Chapter 11-47 entitled "Weapons"
is hereby amended to read as follows:
11-47-22.
Forfeiture and destruction of unlawful firearms. -- (a) No property
right
shall exist in any firearm unlawfully possessed,
carried, or used, and all unlawful firearms are
hereby declared to be nuisances and forfeited to
the state.
(b) When a
firearm is lawfully seized, confiscated from or turned in by any person, it
shall be placed in the custody of the
superintendent of state police or the chief of police in the city
or town in which it was seized, confiscated or
turned in to. The officer who takes custody of the
firearm shall promptly ascertain, using available
record keeping systems, including, but not
limited to, the National Crime Information
Center, whether the firearm has been reported stolen
and if stolen shall notify the reporting law
enforcement agency of the recovery of said firearm. If
the police department in the city or town in
which the firearm was seized or confiscated has not
been notified by a justice of the superior court
or the attorney general that the firearm is necessary
as evidence in a criminal or civil matter, it
shall be returned to the lawful owner. However, any
owner of a firearm who shall knowingly fail to
report the loss or theft of the firearm to the proper
law enforcement authorities shall not be
entitled to its return.
(c) If a firearm
is found not to be stolen and the owner cannot be readily ascertained
within ninety (90) days subsequent to the
seizure or confiscation of said firearm and the firearm is
no longer necessary as evidence in a criminal or
civil matter, the police department having
custody of the firearm shall have the option of
either: (1) destroying said firearm by rendering it
permanently and irretrievably inoperable; (2)
transferring custody of said firearms to the state
crime laboratory for the purpose of criminal
investigation;
or (2) (3) holding an auction of those
firearms seized, confiscated or turned in to
said police department; provided, however, any
firearms to be transferred at auction shall be
limited to antique firearms or curios or relics. For
purposes of this section, "an antique
firearm" shall be defined as any firearm (including any
firearm with a matchlock, flintlock, percussion
cap, or similar type of ignition system)
manufactured on or before 1899, and any replica
of such firearm if such replica is not designed or
redesigned for using rim-fire or conventional
center fire fixed ammunition, or uses rim-fire or
conventional center fire fixed ammunition which
is no longer manufactured in the United States
and which is not readily available in the
ordinary channels of commercial trade. "Curios or relics"
shall be defined as firearms which are of
special interest to collectors by reason of some quality
other than is associated with firearms intended
for sporting use or as offensive or defensive
weapons. To be recognized as curios or relics,
firearms must be manufactured at least fifty (50)
years prior to the current date, but not
including replicas thereof, and firearms which derive a
substantial part of their monetary value from
the fact that they are novel, rare, bizarre, or because
of their association with some historical
figure, period, or event.
(d) In the event
that an auction is held, bidders shall be limited to bona fide holders of a
valid Federal Firearms License for Retail Sale
or a Federal Firearms Collector License. Any
auction shall be advertised at least once a week
for a period of three (3) weeks preceding the date
of the auction in a newspaper of general
circulation, said notice clearly stating the time, location
and terms of said auction. All funds realized
shall be used to purchase and provide necessary
safety equipment, including, but not limited to,
bulletproof vests, for the police department
holding the auction and shall not revert to any
general fund of the state, city or town, as the case
may be.
(e) All firearms
received by any police department in any manner shall be entered in the
department's permanent records and listed by
make, model, caliber and serial number and the
manner in which said firearm was disposed of
and, if by auction, the name and federal license
number of the buyer. A copy of said record shall
be forwarded to the office of the Rhode Island
Attorney General and the Bureau of Alcohol,
Tobacco and Firearms of the United States Treasury
Department on at least an annual basis.
SECTION 2. This
act shall take effect upon passage.
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LC00220/SUB A
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