A bill to cap the capacity of gun magazines in Rhode Island at 10 rounds has stalled in the General Assembly for a decade. But with more people calling for change amid a wave of mass shootings in the U.S., the House Judiciary Committee passed that measure and two others in about 20 minutes Thursday.
The other bills would raise the age to buy a gun from 18 to 21 and ban the open carry of long guns, with exemptions for uses like hunting.
Gun rights supporters wearing yellow shirts filled the Statehouse and could be heard protesting during the committee vote, in a last-ditch attempt to stop the legislation from moving forward.
But legislative leaders’ scheduling of the committee vote (and another vote on the same measures Tuesday in the Senate Judiciary Committee) signaled a green light for the bills.
House Speaker Joe Shekarchi and Majority Leader Chris Blazejewski used their ex officio capacity to participate in the Judiciary Committee vote. They made the difference on the 10-8 margin, since the measure would have been defeated through a tie without their votes.
The two other bills each passed, 14-4.
Three Republicans, House Minority Leader Blake Filippi (R-New Shoreham), Rep. Sherry Roberts (R-West Greenwich) and Rep. David Place (R-Burrillville), and one Democrat, Rep. Camille Vella-Wikinson (D-Warwick), voted against all three bills.
The legislation will move to the House floor for a rare Friday session.
Supporters say the three bills will make Rhode Island safer, while opponents assert that, since criminals violate the law, the legislation will not make a difference, but will punish law-abiding gun owners.
Two other gun bills, a proposed ban on new sales of what some call assault weapons, and a requirement for the home storage of guns when they are not in use, are not expected to get a vote this session.
Ian Donnis can be reached at idonnis@ripr.org. Follow him on Twitter @IanDon. Sign up here for his free weekly RI politics newsletter.
