For the past few years Democrats in Rhode Island have been chipping away at the right to keep and bear arms, but they appear poised to make a much bigger assault on the Second Amendment in the 2025 legislative session.
Senate President Dominick Ruggerio has opposed most gun control bills in the past, and has even been "A" rated by the NRA at times. His previous objections to an "assault weapons" ban, however, now comes with a huge caveat. As Ruggerio told reporters for the Boston Globe last month, "I’ll look at the legislation,” adding, "I won’t say I’m supporting it, but I won’t say I won’t support it.”
Since a bill hasn't been filed yet, we don't know the details of what might be coming, but we do know that the gun control lobby has been pushing Democrats across the country to go as big as they can. In Colorado, for example, SB 3 would prohibit the manufacture, distribution, sale, transfer, or purchase of all gas-operated semi-automatic firearms that can accept detachable magazines. That sweeping ban would make almost every semi-automatic rifle and AR-style pistol on the market off-limits to Coloradans, and would greatly limit their choices of semi-automatic shotguns as well.
With Ruggerio's new open-mindedness towards banning some of the most popular and commonly owned firearms in the country, one of the biggest questions is how a ban might get through the legislature. The Senate Judiciary Committee has typically heard most gun control bills, but gun ban backer Sen. Louis P. DiPalma says there's an alternative route available to anti-gun lawmakers, especially if Rhode Island Gov. Daniel J. McKee follows through with his pledge to include a semi-auto ban in his proposed budget.
DiPalma, a Middletown Democrat who plans to again sponsor a bill to ban assault-style weapons, noted that it’s up to Ruggerio to decide which committee will consider any given piece of legislation. But if the assault weapons ban is part of a budget article, he said one option would be to consider it in the Finance Committee.
“Wherever Senate leadership assigns the bill, I will support it to the Nth degree to get it over the goal line,” he said.
DiPalma thanked Ruggerio for being open to discussing the legislation this session. “The Senate President will go down in history for allowing this robust debate on this measure, which will make Rhode Island safer,” he said.
He said he and Representative Jason Knight, a Barrington Democrat, will introduce companion bills to ban assault-style weapons, and he said he believes the legislation will pass if it comes to the Senate floor. He said 24 of the 38 senators signed onto the bill when he proposed it last year, and he plans to ask each of the 38 senators to be cosponsors again this year.
The Globe suggests that passage of a semi-auto ban is not guaranteed, however. The paper reports that there's a lot of speculation that Ruggerio received support from four Republicans in the leadership election in exchange for keeping an "assault weapons" ban bottled up in committee. Senate Minority Leader Jessica de la Cruz also speculated that one of Ruggerio's top deputies could help defeat or derail the semi-auto ban.
She said the “wild card” in this matter might be Senator David P. Tikoian, the Smithfield Democrat that Ruggerio just named as Senate majority whip. With the Senate’s No. 3 leadership position, Tikoian has the ability to vote on any committee in an “ex officio” role.
De la Cruz said she views Tikoian, a former State Police major and North Providence police chief, as being “pro-2A,” a supporter of Second Amendment rights.
On Monday, Tikoian said he considers each gun bill individually. He noted that last year he voted for legislation advocates called the nation’s strongest and most comprehensive gun storage law. But he said he did not sign onto DiPalma’s bill to ban on assault-style weapons last year.
“At this point, I’m noncommittal,” he said. “Maybe another piece of legislation may come out that’s more palatable. We will see what happens.”
Being non-committal about banning some of the most commonly owned arms in the country doesn't sound pro-2A to me, but I suppose it's better than him offering his unqualified support for infringing on the rights of Rhode Island residents.
I wish we could rely on the Supreme Court to strike down these semi-auto bans, but at this point it's an open question about whether SCOTUS will accept the lawsuit challenging Maryland's prohibition on so-called assault weapons. The gun control lobby is doing everything it can to put more bans in place before the justices take up the issue, and gun owners in states like Colorado and Rhode Island need to be in contact with lawmakers right now to try to keep these bans off the books.
