Gun Control Activists Split on Competing Semi-Auto Ban Bills As Rhode Island Lawmakers Face Deadline

Today is slated to be the last day of Rhode Island’s 2025 legislative session, and the Senate is expected to take up a bill banning the sale and transfer of so-called assault weapons when it gavels in at 2 p.m. this afternoon. 

As we reported earlier this week, the Senate Judiciary Committee amended the original Senate bill on Wednesday afternoon, and the language that will be introduced on the Senate floor is substantially different from the legislation that was approved by the House. 

As amended, the Senate bill prohibits the sale, manufacture, and transfer of “assault weapons”, which are broadly defined as semi-automatic long guns (and some pistols) that can accept a detachable magazine and have one or more prohibited features. It does not, however, ban the possession of those firearms. 

The bill passed by the House does include a ban on possession, though there’s a carveout for those who lawfully possess the arms before the ban kicks in on July 1, 2026. 

Because these bills are different, if the full Senate adopts the language approved by the Judiciary Committee on Wednesday, the House would have to concur with those changes before the bill could be sent to Gov. Daniel McKee. But the Senate could also amend the bill once again so it conforms with the House language, and that’s what some (but not all) anti-gun activists are pushing for. 

David Hogg — a survivor of the 2018 mass shooting at a high school in Parkland, Fla., and a national gun safety advocate — weighed in in favor of the legislation that the House passed on June 5.

“I know that Rhode Islanders deserve a strong bill that not only bans the sale, but also the possession of assault weapons,” Hogg said in a statement. “It is this combination that equals public safety. The Senate version does not include possession, which is beyond unacceptable.” 

… Hogg’s statement came from the Rhode Island Coalition Against Gun Violence, which is lobbying for the House bill and emphasizing that it is the only Rhode Island-based gun safety advocacy group.

The Senate version of the legislation has received support from Everytown for Gun Safety, which has said, “Compromise is a part of public policy progress, and the amended version of this bill is still a massive step forward in limiting access to weapons of war and a Rhode Island free from gun violence.”

The Senate version is backed by the Rhode Island AFL-CIO, which includes the National Education Association Rhode Island, whose leader is Senate President Valarie J. Lawson.

Rhode Island AFL-CIO President Patrick Crowley and Secretary-Treasurer Karen Hazard, issued a statement on Thursday, saying they “stand in full support of” the Senate bill and “applaud the Rhode Island state Senate for moving forward with this important piece of legislation.”

From a Second Amendment perspective, of course, neither bill is acceptable. It doesn’t matter if one bill bans possession and the other only bans the sale and transfer of commonly-owned firearms. Both are violations of our right to keep and bear arms. 

There’s at least a tactical reason to root for the Senate to keep its amended language in place; it would require House approval as well, and with today the last day of the session there’s a small chance that the House won’t be able to take up the bill before the legislature adjourns. I suppose there’s also a chance that House Democrats would balk at weakening the bill, but I don’t think they’d go so far as to reject it outright if it means a gun ban bill won’t be signed into law by the governor this year. 

With the Senate set to vote on more than 50 bills this afternoon, and the House scheduled to vote on 60 others, there’s not going to be a lot of time for debate and discussion. It’s worth noting, though, that the House Judiciary Committee is scheduled to meet at 2:30 this afternoon, so if the Senate does approve the amended bill that would need to win House approval, Democrats will probably be able to push the Senate bill through the committee and onto the House floor by late afternoon. 

No matter how this particular piece of anti-Second Amendment sausage is made, gun owners in the state should gear up for a lawsuit. They should also be looking at both a primary and general election challenge to Senator John P. Burke, who was the lone Democrat on the Judiciary Committee who was expected to vote against the bill in any form. Instead, he cast the key vote that sent the amended version to the Senate floor, knowing full well it could revert back to its earlier version. Burke didn’t have an opponent in either the Democratic primary or the general election two years ago, and that should not be the case next time around.