Amid the rising tide of public frustration about mass shootings, Gov. Dan McKee signed into law Tuesday three bills that supporters say will help make Rhode Island safer.
The new measures raise the age to buy guns and ammunition from 18 to 21, limit magazine capacity to 10 rounds, and prohibit the carrying of loaded long guns in public places.
During a packed signing ceremony in the State Room of the Statehouse with Shannon Watts, the founder of the activist group Moms Demand Action, on hand, supporters pushed back at gun-owners’ arguments that their rights are being violated.
“Large-capacity magazines have just one purpose and that’s to inflict mass death and destruction as quickly as possible,” said state Sen. Cynthia Coyne (D-Barrington), chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee and Senate sponsor of the magazine capacity bill. “And we know that. They have no place on our streets or in our society. Setting a reasonable 10-round limit on magazine capacity represents meaningful action to make our state safer.”
The magazine-capacity bill was the most contentious of three measures approved by the General Assembly.
After the bill was defeated through a tie vote in the Senate Judiciary Committee last Tuesday, the Senate’s Democratic leadership used an uncommon process known as immediate consideration to move the House version of the same bill to the Senate floor, where it passed, 25-11.
Gun-rights owners criticized that process, as well as the lack of a grandfather clause in the legislation for existing owners of magazines with more than 10 rounds.
In a statement, gun-rights activist Brenda Jacob charged that the legislation signed by McKee “will make law-abiding citizens felons within the next 180 days.”
“The political maneuvering that occurred to get these bills passed and the unprecedented shift away from the committee process should raise alarm bells for all Rhode Islanders,” Jacob said. “The political leadership of the Senate disregarded the committee vote, whose members spent countless hours listening to testimony and evaluating the legislation presented before the committee. There needs to be a change in legislators that operate not to maintain their power but for the benefit of Rhode Islanders.”
But Sen. Coyne, a former State Police lieutenant, said capping magazines at 10 rounds “will reduce the risk of Rhode Island experiencing a tragedy like we’ve seen in Buffalo, Uvalde and so many others places.
“It does not and will not take anyone’s right to own a gun, or to own any specific type of gun, away,” she said. “It tells Rhode Islanders that we have heard their calls for common sense gun reform and that we take their safety seriously.”
Coyne was joined by the other House and Senate sponsors of the bills in speaking during the ceremony.
A small group of protestors, wearing the yellow shirts associated with gun-rights supporters, shouted in the Statehouse rotunda as the signing ceremony took place.
Capitol Police maintained a high-profile presence at the event, and barriers were posted on the way to the State Room describing the signing as a private event.
Shannon Watts founded Moms Demand Action, which she described as the nation’s largest grassroots gun-safety organization.
In kicking off the signing ceremony, she said shootings are now the leading cause of death for American children and teens.
“Americans are rising up and demanding more than thoughts and prayers from lawmakers,” Watts said. “Thankfully, lawmakers at all levels of government are stepping up to address this epidemic which kills over 110 Americans every day and wounds hundreds more.’
Watts said backing gun-safety measures is not just good policy, but good politics, due to growing public support.
Efforts to impose new restrictions on guns have traditionally faced an uphill battle in Rhode Island, due in part to a contingent of socially conservative Democrats. In recent years, bills passed to outlaw untraceable ghost guns and to pass a ‘red flag’ law, in an attempt to identify dangerous individuals.
Nonetheless, said Rep. Justine Caldwell (D-East Greenwich), “It is a little overwhelming to be here today, representing finally a day in this movement that is about hope over fear.”
Caldwell recounted being told not to talk about gun issues when she first ran for office, since it might polarize voters in a district with a mix of Democrats and Republicans.
But, she said, she knew Rhode Islanders. “And I knew Rhode Islanders cared more about keeping kids safe in school than they did about folks having the ability to shoot more than 10 rounds in rapid fire.”
Rhode Island is now among at least 10 states, including Connecticut and Massachusetts, that ban so-called large capacity magazines.
Gun owners with magazines that hold more than 10 rounds have 180 days to modify them so they comply with the law, surrender them to police, or transfer them to a state where they are legal.
The three new gun laws in Rhode Island gained momentum after the recent mass shootings in Buffalo and Uvalde.
“Today is about taking action and saving lives,” said Gov. McKee. “It’s about coming together and stepping up to protect the people of Rhode Island.”
Ian Donnis can be reached at idonnis@ripr.org. Follow him on Twitter @IanDon. Sign up here for his free weekly RI politics newsletter.
