Click here to see the latest status of a bill.
Click here to find your legislator(s)

Please do not send emails from this form since the 2016 session is over

House Bill No. 7683 BY Blazejewski, Regunberg, Bennett, Almeida ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO CRIMINAL PROCEDURE -- DOMESTIC VIOLENCE PREVENTION ACT (Creates the domestic violence prevention fund administered by RI Foundation for distribution of funds to groups for primary prevention programs funded by additional $46 fee on marriage licenses, effective September 1, 2016.)

First Name*
Last Name*
Street*
City*
Your Email*
Phone#
Subject*	Please Oppose H7683!
Comments* (feel free to personalize the letter)	Speaker of the House and House Judiciary Committee, Please do not support H7683 since it is fiscally irresponsible. The bill (http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText16/HouseText16/H7683.pdf) places a $46 extra charge on marriage licenses, creating an anticipated $250,000 annual revenue to be used for "domestic violence" prevention programs. However, the bill does not require any legislative input, control or even oversight on who receives this money, or how it is spent. Rhode Island is one of the highest taxed states and with the current public outrage over government’s lack of fiscal accountability and transparency, this poorly written bill should not be passed into law. Please do NOT support H7683. Thank you.

 
3-23-2016: The email campaign was so effective that 
we have been asked to shut it down for now.
It will be disabled for now, but we will bring it 
back for the next hearing!

House Bill No. 7093 BY Fellela, Carnevale, Costa, Ucci ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO CRIMINAL OFFENSES -- WEAPONS (Provides for automatic renewal of a gun permit or license.)

First Name*
Last Name*
Street*
City*
Your Email*
Phone#
Subject*	Please support H7093!
Comments* (feel free to personalize the letter)	Please support H7093, a bill to simplify concealed carry renewals. This bill would eliminate unnecessary requirements to renew a concealed carry permit. Currently the law calls for every CCW renewal applicant to go through the entire process all over again. There is no risk to the public by eliminating the need for CCWs renewing their permits to go through the full process—something many, especially the elderly, find burdensome. This bill keeps the requirement to pass a NICS background check. People who have become unqualified would be screened out. Please support H7093, a bill to simplify concealed carry renewals.

House Bill No. 7103 BY Fellela, Carnevale, Costa, Ucci ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO TAXATION - SALES AND USE TAXES - LIABILITY AND COMPUTATION (Exempts from sales and use taxes devices designed for purpose of safe firearms storage.)

First Name*
Last Name*
Street*
City*
Your Email*
Phone#
Subject*	Please support H7103!
Comments* (feel free to personalize the letter)

House Bill No. 7199 BY Regunberg, Carson, Ajello, Handy, Almeida ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO CRIMINAL OFFENSES -- WEAPONS (Criminalizes the manufacture, import, possession, purchase, sale or transfer of any ammunition feeding device capable of accepting more than ten (10) rounds.)

First Name*
Last Name*
Street*
City*
Your Email*
Phone#
Subject*	Please oppose H7199!
Comments* (feel free to personalize the letter)	Bill H7199 would ban the possession of ammunition feeding devices, or magazines, that are capable of holding more than 10 rounds. Not only would this bill restrict firearm capacity to no more than 10 rounds but would also require you to sell magazines to a dealer, turn over them over to law enforcement for destruction or sell them out of state WITHOUT compensation! In many cases this would limit the types of firearms one could purchase since many firearms, designed specifically for self-defense, are engineered around a capacity of 12-15 rounds. Banning these magazines will not make anyone safer, but could make law abiding citizens LESS safe against multiple attackers. Please oppose H7199!

House Bill No. 7243 BY Ajello, Tanzi, Handy, Amore, Almeida ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO CRIMINAL OFFENSES - WEAPONS (Provides that only peace officers and persons approved by the school authorities for the purposes of educational instruction officers may carry firearms or other weapons on school grounds.)

First Name*
Last Name*
Street*
City*
Your Email*
Phone#
Subject*	Please oppose H7243!
Comments* (feel free to personalize the letter)	Please do NOT support H7243, which would ban concealed carry firearms holders from schools. This bill is based on the fiction that concealed carry firearms permit holders are a danger to the public. There is absolutely no evidence to support this claim. There has not been one single incident involving a CCW shooting in a Rhode Island school. In fact, I have been unable to find one anywhere in the entire country—and there are more than 13 million CCWs nationwide. This bill would criminalize CCW parents picking up their children because it prohibits CCWs from school grounds not just school buildings. This bill would take away the right of self-protection from teachers and other school employees who hold CCWs—possibly a violation of the Constitution. This bill makes Rhode Island school children sitting ducks because it removes the possibility of CCWs on school grounds to protect them. There have been instances where CCWs have prevented school shootings or reduced the death toll. Banning CCWs puts Rhode Island school children at greater risk for mass shootings. It is well documented that mass murders see gun-free zones as ideal targets—particularly schools which give them the maximum publicity they crave. According to Stanford University, of the 54 mass shootings–defined as resulting in three or more victims—that have taken place since 2002, nearly 70% were in gun-free zones. Please do not support H7243, which would ban concealed carry firearms holders from schools.

House Bill No. 7244 BY Filippi, Carnevale, Casey, Chippendale, Reilly ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO STATE AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT - DEPARTMENT OF ATTORNEY GENERAL - GUN CRIMES REPORT (Directs the attorney general to report annually to the general assembly on the incidence and disposition of crimes involving guns.)

First Name*
Last Name*
Street*
City*
Your Email*
Phone#
Subject*	Please support H7244!
Comments* (feel free to personalize the letter)	This bill would require the Office of the Attorney General to report all firearm related cases that were prosecuted by their office, and specifically list the disposition of those firearm related charges to the General Assembly annually. This bill, if it were to become law, would enable the Rhode Island General Assembly to make data-driven decisions when considering and drafting future firearms’ related legislative initiatives. Please support H7244!

House Bill No. 7283 BY Amore, Lombardi, Ajello, Regunberg, Blazejewski ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO CRIMINAL OFFENSES - WEAPONS (Prohibits any person convicted of a misdemeanor offense under §12-29-2 (a crime involving domestic violence) from purchasing, owning, transporting, carrying, or possessing any firearm.)

First Name*
Last Name*
Street*
City*
Your Email*
Phone#
Subject*	Please oppose H7283!
Comments* (feel free to personalize the letter)	This act would take full advantage of the extremely broad and deep reaching Domestic Violence statutes in RI and all the loopholes contained therein, and force gun owners to relinquish OWNERSHIP of all of their firearms under certain sections of restraining orders or convictions. This would be the first known law allowing the state to take ownership of personal property that has no been used, a part of, or related to the crime being alleged. This is confiscation plain and simple. This bill will do nothing to reduce domestic violence. Please oppose H7283!

House Bill No. 7332 BY Casey, Chippendale, Keable, Newberry, Solomon ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO CRIMINAL OFFENSES - WEAPONS (Deletes unnecessary language with regard to the destruction of application records for the purchase of a rifle or shotgun, if an applicant is not otherwise disqualified under any other applicable provision of the general laws.)

First Name*
Last Name*
Street*
City*
YourEmail*
Phone#
Subject*	Please support H7332!
Comments* (feel free to personalize the letter)	This law needs to be updated to reflect the intent of the statute which is that there should be no firearms registration. Currently, some departments destroy the application, but stil keeps a record of the transaction. Please support H7332!

House Bill No. 7390 BY Lima, Carnevale, Corvese, Chippendale, Costa ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO CRIMINAL OFFENSES -- WEAPONS (Requires timely review of any application for a permit to carry a concealed pistol and allows judicial review of adverse administrative decisions regarding such applications. It would also codify applications to the attorney general.)

Note! There are two parts to this bill. The first part makes some really GOOD changes to the licensing process under 11-47-11. It standardizes the application, sets a processing time limit, and sets up an appeal's process. The second part of this bill makes changes to the Attorney General's process.

First Name*
Last Name*
Street*
City*
Your Email*
Phone#
Subject*	Please support H7390!
Comments* (feel free to personalize the letter)	H7390 will make some great changes to the licensing process for CCW permits. There are changes to both the 11-47-11 and the 11-47-18 statutes that standardizes the application process. These are great improvements, especially when it comes to 11-47-11 since there are 39 different applications with a wide range of requirements- although they are "supposed" to be processed under the same statute. Not only does the bill provide a standard application, but it also sets a timeframe to process applications (some departments take over 1yr to process applications). The last important change is that there will be a process for appeals through the Rhode Island Superior Court. Today, there is no appeals process and denied applicants have to petition the Rhode Island Supreme Court for a review. This is a time consuming and expensive process for both the applicant and the licensing authorities and there is no guarantee the court will accept the case (this has happened). Although the laws are pretty clear that the licensing authorities Shall Issue a permit if the statutory requirements are met and the Rhode Island Supreme Court has in several cases sided with the Gun Owners, many licensing authorities still continue to ignore the law. Please support H7390!

House Bill No. 7419 (Public Defender) BY Almeida, Regunberg, Ajello, Williams, Abney ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO CRIMINAL OFFENSES -- DISORDERLY CONDUCT (Makes certain disorderly conduct offenses subject to a fine of $500 only, while maintaining the current sanctions for disorderly conduct cases involving domestic violence.)

First Name*
Last Name*
Street*
City*
Your Email*
Phone#
Subject*	Please oppose H7419!
Comments* (feel free to personalize the letter)

House Bill No. 7460 BY Corvese, Carnevale, Lima, Nardolillo, Chippendale ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO FISH AND WILDLIFE - BIRDS (Legalizes the taking of wild migratory birds by crossbow.)

First Name*
Last Name*
Street*
City*
Your Email*
Phone#
Subject*	Please support H7460!
Comments* (feel free to personalize the letter)

House Bill No. 7575 BY Tanzi, Fogarty, Carson, Ruggiero, Maldonado ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO CRIMINAL OFFENSES -- WEAPONS--THE PROTECT RHODE ISLAND FAMILIES ACT (Requires the surrender of firearms to law enforcement agencies after conviction of certain domestic violence offenses.)

First Name*
Last Name*
Street*
City*
Your Email*
Phone#
Subject*	Please oppose H7575!
Comments* (feel free to personalize the letter)	Please oppose this bill since the act is relying on an overly broad and flawed definition of "Domestic Violence" as a front for full blown gun confiscation. This will do nothing to reduce domestic violence either. Please oppose H7575!

House Bill No. 7541 BY Ucci, Chippendale, Nardolillo, Price, Corvese ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO CRIMINAL OFFENSES -- WEAPONS (Allows individuals with concealed carry permits issued by Massachusetts, Connecticut and any other state with a live fire requirement to carry concealed firearms within this state.)

First Name*
Last Name*
Street*
City*
Your Email*
Phone#
Subject*	Please support H7541!
Comments* (feel free to personalize the letter)	Please support this bill since it will allow gun owners from other states to carry a concealed firearm. This bill primarily applies to our neighbors in CT and MA, but also to states that have other similar gun licensing requirements, such as live fire, to obtain a permit. We offer reciprocity with ALL states on driver's licenses, and we should offer it for CCW permits as well since permit holders are among the most law abiding citizens and have gone through strict background checks. Please support H7451!

House Bill No. 7535 (Attorney General) BY Diaz, Slater, Hull, Maldonado, Abney ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO CRIMINAL OFFENSES - WEAPONS (Criminalizes the mere possession of a firearm by a minor, but would provide for limited exceptions while the minor is in the presence of a qualified adult or participating in certain competitive or ceremonial events.)

First Name*
Last Name*
Street*
City*
Your Email*
Phone#
Subject*	Please oppose H7535!
Comments* (feel free to personalize the letter)	This will only affect activity involving long guns because the law already prohibits the carrying of handguns without a permit (11-47-8). Why are not kids prosecuted under 11-47-8 instead of 11-47-33? Is there any data to back up the claim that the firearms affected by this proposed legislation are used in crimes in Rhode Island? Long guns used by criminals are frequently altered to make them more concealable, which is a violation of current law. Any long gun altered to less than 26” overall length is illegal under current RI law, even if it is a legally manufactured firearm. By deleting the words “and use”, the statute makes a criminal out of any minor who simply possesses a firearm, including “BB” guns. Is a child’s BB gun stored in their own bedroom considered possession? There is no definition of “possession”. I think this legislation is a further erosion of our rights and a backdoor law to alleviate the desire for law abiding citizens to introduce the shooting sports to the next generation of firearm enthusiast. I ask you do not pass this bill in its current form with the outstanding issues circulating around the aforementioned concerns. Please oppose H7535!

House Bill No. 7669 House Bill No. 7669 BY Handy, Maldonado, Serpa, Kazarian, McKiernan ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO CRIMINAL OFFENSES - SALE OF IVORY OR RHINOCEROS HORNS (Prohibits any person from importing, selling, offering for sale, purchasing, bartering, or possessing with intent to sell, any ivory, ivory product, rhinoceros horn, or rhinoceros horn product, with limited exception & provides for fines for violations .)

First Name*
Last Name*
Street*
City*
Your Email*
Phone#
Subject*	Please oppose H7669!
Comments* (feel free to personalize the letter)

House Bill No. 7680 House Bill No. 7680 BY Nardolillo, Chippendale, Price, Roberts ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO STATE AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT - SECOND AMENDMENT PRESERVATION ACT (Prohibits the use of state funds, personnel or property in the enforcement of federal firearms laws or regulations.)

First Name*
Last Name*
Street*
City*
Email*
Phone#
Subject*	Please support H7680!
Comments* (feel free to personalize the letter)	Please support H7680, a bill that would preserve states rights relating to firearms. Many people believe government works best when laws are made at the closest level to the people. There is no need for the federal government to force firearms laws on Rhode Islanders. According to the Brady Campaign, the large anti-firearms organization, Rhode Island has the seventh strongest firearms laws in the nation. There is a movement now, driven by the national election, fear, ignorance of the facts and millions of dollars, to pass nonsensical laws that would restrict the rights of law abiding citizens to protect themselves with firearms, while having no possibility to reduce the homicide rate. This bill would protect the sovereignty of Rhode Islanders to make the laws that suit their needs—not have unnecessary ones forced on them. Please support H7680, a bill that would preserve States' rights relating to firearms.

House Bill No. 7683 House Bill No. 7683 BY Blazejewski, Regunberg, Bennett, Almeida, Keable ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO CRIMINAL PROCEDURE -- DOMESTIC VIOLENCE PREVENTION ACT (Creates the domestic violence prevention fund administered by RI Foundation for distribution of funds to groups for primary prevention programs funded by additional $46 fee on marriage licenses, effective September 1, 2016.)

First Name*
Last Name*
Street*
City*
Your Email*
Phone#
Subject*	Please oppose H7683!
Comments* (feel free to personalize the letter)

House Bill No. 7799 (Attorney General) BY Maldonado, Diaz, Kazarian, Fogarty, Regunberg ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO CRIMINAL OFFENSES -- WEAPONS (Includes orange or otherwise brightly colored plugs or tips inserted into the barrel of any firearm into the definition of "mark of identification" for those persons who change, alter, remove, or obliterate any mark of identification on a firearm.)

First Name*
Last Name*
Street*
City*
Your Email*
Phone#
Subject*	Please oppose H7799!
Comments* (feel free to personalize the letter)	This act would include orange or otherwise brightly colored plugs or tips inserted into the barrel of any firearm into the definition of "mark of identification" for those persons who change, alter, remove, or obliterate any mark of identification on a firearm. The language of this bill creates a potential problem if a firearm were altered through the removal of stock parts and the addition of “aftermarket” parts. Routine modifications made to a firearm could be considered alterations to identifying marks based on the loose definition in this act, even without the serialized identification marks being altered. If this bill passes it would be OK to put an orange plug into the muzzle of a real firearm, but not to remove it on a fake firearm. This does not make much sense.. Please oppose H7799!

House Bill No. 7850 (Attorney General) BY Diaz, Shekarchi, Almeida, Maldonado ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO CRIMINAL OFFENSES - WEAPONS {LC4003/1} (Makes it unlawful to carry a rifle or shotgun in a vehicle or on one's person, visible or concealed, except at one's residence, place of business or land.)

First Name*
Last Name*
Street*
City*
Your Email*
Phone#
Subject*	Please oppose H7850!
Comments* (feel free to personalize the letter)	This bill will severely restrict where rifles and shotguns can be carried. There is not even a provision to go to a friend's property and shoot. There is also no exemption for someone who might be flying out of state on a hunting trip. I also feel it is wrong that there is a MANDATORY sentence of 1 year for violations that are otherwise not criminal. There is a mandatory sentence of 15 years under certain circumstances. It is possible that a person sells a firearm legally, but the buyer lies on the form (Federal Offense), and since there is a mandatory sentence the seller could get 15 years in prison. Please oppose H7850!

House Bill No. 7853 (Attorney General) BY Johnston, Canario ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO CRIMINAL OFFENSES - WEAPONS (Provides that no person, entity, or dealer shall sell, loan, transfer or acquire a firearm from any person, entity or dealer with the intent to avoid the application/disclosure process required by §§11-47-35 or 11-47-35.2.)

First Name*
Last Name*
Street*
City*
Your Email*
Phone#
Subject*	Please oppose H7853!
Comments* (feel free to personalize the letter)	Please oppose H7853!