2006 -- S 2233

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LC01148

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STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2006

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A N A C T

RELATING TO WEAPONS

     Introduced By: Senators Perry, Gibbs, Metts, Pichardo, and Connors

     Date Introduced: January 31, 2006

     Referred To: Senate Judiciary

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. -- When used in this chapter, the following words and phrases are

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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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section 921.

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      (2) "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 section 21-28-2.08, any violation of

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section 21-28-4.01.1 or 21-28-4.01.2 or conspiracy to commit any violation of these statutes,

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

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

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punishable as a felony offense under section 12-29-5.

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

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

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

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

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

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the provisions of this section.

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      (4) "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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      (5) "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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      (6) "Machine gun" means any weapon which shoots, is designed to shoot, or can be

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

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      (8) "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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      (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").

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

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

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      (11) "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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     (12) "Ammunition," means cartridges or cartridge cases, primers (igniter), bullets or

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propellant powder designed for use in any firearm, rifle or shotgun. The term "ammunition" shall

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also mean tear gas cartridges, chemical mace or any device or instrument which contains or emits

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a liquid, gas, powder or any other substance designated to incapacitate.

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     (13) "Assault weapon, " shall have the same meaning as a semiautomatic assault weapon

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as defined in the federal Public Safety and Recreational Firearms Use Protection Act, 18 U.S.C.

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section 921 (a)(30), and shall include, but not be limited to, any of the weapons or copies or

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duplicates of the weapons, of any caliber, known as : (i) Avtomat Kalashnikov (AK) (all models);

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(ii) Action Arms Israeli Military Industries UZI and Galil; (iii) Beretta Ar70 (SC-70); (iv) Colt

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AR-15; (v) Fabrique National FN/FAL, FN/LAR and FNC; (vi) SWD M-10, M-11, M-11/9 and

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M-12; (vii) Steyr AUG; (viii) INTRATEC TEC-9, TEC-DC9 and TEC-22; and (ix) revolving

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cylinder shotguns, such as, or similar to, the Street Sweeper and Striker 12; provided, however,

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that the term assault weapon shall not include: (i) any of the weapons, or replicas or duplicates of

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such weapons, specified in appendix A to 18 U.S.C. section 922, as such weapons were

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manufactured on October 1, 1993; (ii) any weapon that is operated by manual bolt, pump, lever or

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slide action; (iii) any weapon that has been rendered permanently inoperable or otherwise

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rendered permanently unable to be designated a semiautomatic assault weapon; (iv) any weapon

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that was manufactured prior to the year 1899; (v) any weapon that is an antique or relic, theatrical

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prop or other weapon that is not capable of firing a projectile and which is not intended for use as

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a functional weapon and cannot be readily modified through a combination of available parts into

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an operable assault weapon; (vi) any semiautomatic rifle that cannot accept a detachable

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magazine that holds more than five (5) rounds of ammunition; or (vii) any semiautomatic

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shotgun that cannot hold more than five (5) rounds of ammunition in a fixed or detachable

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magazine.

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     (14) "Large capacity feeding device" means: (i) a fixed or detachable magazine, box,

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drum, feed strip or similar device capable of accepting, or that can be readily converted to accept

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more than ten (10) rounds of ammunition or more than five (5) shotgun shells; or (ii) a large

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capacity ammunition feeding device as defined in the federal Public Safety and Recreational

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Firearms Use Protection Act, 18 U.S.C. section 921 (a)(31).

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     The term "large capacity feeding device" shall not include an attached tubular device

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designed to accept, and capable of operation only with, .22 caliber ammunition.

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     (15) "Semiautomatic," means being: capable of utilizing a portion of the energy of a

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firing cartridge to extract the fired cartridge case and chamber the next round, and requiring a

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separate pull of the trigger to fire each cartridge.

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     (16) "Shotgun," means a weapon having a smooth bore with a barrel length equal to or

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greater than eighteen (18) inches with an overall length equal to or greater than twenty-six (26)

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inches, and capable of discharging a shot or bullet for each pull of the trigger.

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

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by adding thereto the following section:

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     11-47-63. New assault weapons banned. – (a) No person shall sell, offer for sale,

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transfer or possess an assault weapon or large capacity feeding device that was not otherwise

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lawfully possessed on September 13, 1994. Whoever not being authorized violates the provisions

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of this section shall be punished, for a first offense, by a fine of not less than one thousand dollars

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($1,000) nor more than ten thousand dollars ($10,000) and by imprisonment for not less than one

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year not more than ten (10) years, and for a second offense, by a fine of not less than five

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thousand dollars ($5,000) nor more than fifteen thousand dollars ($15,000) and by imprisonment

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for not less than five (5) years nor more than fifteen (15) years.

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     (b) The provisions of this section shall not apply to: (1) the possession by a law

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enforcement officer for purposes of law enforcement; or (2) the possession by an individual who

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is retired from service with a law enforcement agency and is not otherwise prohibited from

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receiving such a weapon or feeding device from such agency upon retirement.

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     SECTION 3. This act shall take effect upon passage.

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LC01148

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EXPLANATION

BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

OF

A N A C T

RELATING TO WEAPONS

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     This act would add definitions of "ammunition", "assault weapon", "large capacity

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feeding device", semiautomatic" and "shotgun" to the chapter on weapons and would make it

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unlawful to sell, transfer or possess any assault weapons or a large capacity feeding device.

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     This act would take effect upon passage.

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LC01148

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