The old phrase, “Give them an inch, and they’ll take a mile,” is nowhere more apparent than in the modern gun control movement. Gun-rights groups have warned for decades about the incremental nature of gun bans, while those on the other side of the debate have always laughed the notion off as “conspiracy theory.”
Today, we are seeing more proof of this truth in Rhode Island, where anti-gun lawmakers are trying to expand on a bad law they passed last year. Last June, Democrat Gov. Dan McKee signed into law a ban on the manufacture, purchase, sale, or transfer of common semi-automatic firearms that gun-ban advocates often refer to as “assault weapons.” The ban covers most AR-style firearms, as well as many other shotguns and rifles that meet the law’s criteria.
Of course, when passed, lawmakers claimed they weren’t going to “take anyone’s guns from them.” After all, the ban only outlawed the manufacture, purchase, sale, and transfer of those guns.
If you guessed those same anti-gun lawmakers are now pushing to ban “possession” of those same firearms, you are correct. Rhode Island Democrat lawmakers are now pushing forward with S. 2710, which changes the law’s language to ban “manufacture, sale, possession and purchase of prohibited firearms.”
As NRA’s Institute for Legislative Action (NRA-ILA) pointed out in a legislative alert, there is no grandfathering, and the legislation creates a felony with harsh penalties. Those who fail to get rid of their guns face a maximum penalty of $10,000 and a 10-year prison sentence.
“This radical Rhode Island gun grab is a microcosm of what we are seeing across the country,” John Commerford, NRA-ILA executive director, said in a statement. “Year after year, progressive politicians continue to implement cookie-cutter gun control laws that erode the rights of law-abiding citizens. Now, just one year after banning the sale of so-called ‘assault weapons’ in Rhode Island, anti-gun advocates want to outright ban the possession of the most commonly owned firearms in the United States. This extreme and unconstitutional proposal would not advance public safety in the state. Instead, it would simply disarm and endanger lawful citizens who want to protect their families from violent criminals in the Ocean State.”
Unfortunately for Rhode Island gun owners, the gun ban is not the only anti-gun measure on the table this session. According to NRA-ILA, there are currently 18 gun bills on the agenda, and most of them are bad.
Some of the other anti-gun measures include H 7035, which would restrict to gun purchases to one per month; H 8071, which would require a background check for ammunition purchases; and H 8075, which would force anyone owning a firearm to maintain an insurance policy of at least $1 million.
“All of this is coming on the heels of the Legislature passing magazine restrictions and a semi-auto ban as recently as last session,” NRA-ILA concluded. “Anyone who thought they would be satisfied is wrong. Their intention is to completely ban your Second Amendment rights.”
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