Bill Analysis S2726 expands Rhode Island’s mandatory firearm safety training requirement from pistols and revolvers to all firearms – including rifles and shotguns – and increases the required training from two hours to eight hours, with a mandatory standardized written test. The Key Change Current law requires a 2-hour DEM pistol/revolver safety course before purchasing…
Bill Analysis S2295 is the Senate companion to H7035. It limits Rhode Island gun owners to one firearm purchase every 30 days, making it a crime to buy more than one pistol, rifle, or shotgun in a single month. The Key Change The bill creates a new § 11-47-65 prohibiting any person from purchasing or…
Bill Analysis S2611 is the Senate companion to H7557. It creates the Rhode Island Firearm Industry Accountability Act, exposing firearm manufacturers, distributors, and retailers to civil lawsuits when a court determines they failed to implement “reasonable controls” over their products. The Key Change The bill creates a new Chapter 106 defining “firearm industry members” and…
Bill Analysis S2306 makes two changes to Rhode Island firearms law: it removes the prohibition on manufacturing, selling, and purchasing short-barrel rifles and shotguns, and it legalizes suppressor use for licensed hunters. The Key Change The bill amends § 11-47-20 to remove “manufacture, sell, purchase” from the list of prohibited acts involving silencers on short-barrel…
Bill Analysis S2283 creates a new § 9-1-55, a civil cause of action allowing licensed firearm carriers who suffer injury on commercial property with a no-firearms posting to sue the property owner when the injury could have been avoided if they had been allowed to carry. The Key Change A licensed carrier who is injured…
Bill Analysis S2277 converts Rhode Island’s carry permit system to shall-issue for both city/town (§ 11-47-11) and Attorney General (§ 11-47-18) permits, establishes 90-day processing deadlines, standardizes application requirements, and makes self-defense an explicit lawful reason for a permit. See also S2164, a similar bill with additional provisions including out-of-state reciprocity and suppressor hunting. The…
Bill Analysis S2164 is the most comprehensive carry reform bill in the 2026 Senate. It converts Rhode Island’s may-issue permit system to shall-issue, recognizes out-of-state carry permits, legalizes short-barrel rifles and shotguns, allows suppressor use in hunting, and protects permit holder privacy. The Key Change The bill rewrites both § 11-47-11 (city/town permits) and §…
Bill Analysis S2163 is the Senate companion to H7553. It creates a formal, enforceable appeal process for Rhode Islanders whose carry permit applications are denied, requiring written reasons, an in-person hearing, Superior Court review, and attorney fees for applicants who prevail against bad-faith denials. The Key Change The bill creates § 11-47-8.2, establishing a two-step…
Bill Analysis S2155 allows Rhode Island residents 21 and older to carry a concealed handgun without a permit, provided they hold a current NRA qualification certificate, a RI DEM pistol/revolver safety certificate, and a valid government-issued photo ID. The Key Change The bill amends § 11-47-10 to create a conditional permitless carry pathway. A resident…
Bill Analysis S3038 amends Rhode Island’s red flag law to require mandatory involuntary psychiatric hospitalization every time a court issues a temporary Extreme Risk Protection Order – turning a firearm seizure proceeding into a forced commitment. The Key Change The bill adds a single sentence to § 8-8.3-4 (Temporary ERPO proceedings): when a court finds…