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| 4 | 4 | | |
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| 5 | 5 | | 2023 -- S 0929 |
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| 6 | 6 | | ======== |
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| 7 | 7 | | LC002830 |
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| 8 | 8 | | ======== |
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| 9 | 9 | | S T A T E O F R H O D E I S L A N D |
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| 10 | 10 | | IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 11 | 11 | | JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2023 |
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| 12 | 12 | | ____________ |
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| 13 | 13 | | |
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| 14 | 14 | | A N A C T |
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| 15 | 15 | | RELATING TO CRIMINAL OFFENSES -- WEAPONS |
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| 16 | 16 | | Introduced By: Senator Matthew L. LaMountain |
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| 17 | 17 | | Date Introduced: April 13, 2023 |
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| 18 | 18 | | Referred To: Senate Judiciary |
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| 19 | 19 | | |
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| 20 | 20 | | |
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| 21 | 21 | | It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows: |
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| 22 | 22 | | SECTION 1. Chapter 11-47 of the General Laws entitled "Weapons" is hereby amended 1 |
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| 23 | 23 | | by adding thereto the following section: 2 |
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| 24 | 24 | | 11-47-39.1. Prohibited firearm dealer business locations. 3 |
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| 25 | 25 | | (a) No person, except as provided in subsections (c) and (d) of this section, shall operate a 4 |
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| 26 | 26 | | business selling firearms on premises where any portion of the premises are located within five 5 |
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| 27 | 27 | | hundred feet (500') of any portion of the premises of any public, private or parochial school, or any 6 |
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| 28 | 28 | | child daycare center. 7 |
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| 29 | 29 | | (b) As used in this section, the following words and phrases are construed as follows: 8 |
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| 30 | 30 | | (1) "Child daycare center" shall have the same meaning as defined in § 42-12.5-2. 9 |
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| 31 | 31 | | (2) "Firearm" means any rifle, shotgun or pistol as those words are defined in § 11-47-2. 10 |
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| 32 | 32 | | (3) "Private school" means any nonpublic institution of elementary or secondary 11 |
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| 33 | 33 | | kindergarten through grade twelve (K-12) education accredited or recognized as a private school 12 |
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| 34 | 34 | | by the department of elementary and secondary education or the school committee of the 13 |
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| 35 | 35 | | municipality having jurisdiction over private schools. 14 |
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| 36 | 36 | | (c) The provisions of subsection (a) of this section shall not apply to a federally licensed 15 |
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| 37 | 37 | | firearm dealer with an established business selling firearms at a retail location on or prior to July 1, 16 |
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| 38 | 38 | | 2023 which business operation would otherwise violate the provisions of subsection (a) of this 17 |
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| 39 | 39 | | section; provided, however, that this exception shall only apply to a business that maintains 18 |
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| 40 | 40 | | continuous retail sales of firearms at the exempt grandfathered location. 19 |
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| 41 | 41 | | |
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| 42 | 42 | | |
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| 43 | 43 | | LC002830 - Page 2 of 3 |
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| 44 | 44 | | (d) The provisions of this section shall not apply to any sale or delivery of firearms to any 1 |
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| 45 | 45 | | law enforcement agency or governmental entity. 2 |
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| 46 | 46 | | (e) The attorney general may bring an action to enforce the provisions of this section. 3 |
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| 47 | 47 | | SECTION 2. Section 11-47-39 of the General Laws in Chapter 11-47 entitled "Weapons" 4 |
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| 48 | 48 | | is hereby amended to read as follows: 5 |
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| 49 | 49 | | 11-47-39. Issuance and conditions of dealer’s license. 6 |
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| 50 | 50 | | (a) The duly constituted licensing authorities of any city, town, or political subdivision of 7 |
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| 51 | 51 | | this state may grant licenses in form prescribed by the attorney general effective for not more than 8 |
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| 52 | 52 | | one year from date of issue permitting the licensee to sell pistols and revolvers at retail within this 9 |
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| 53 | 53 | | state, subject to the following conditions in addition to those specified in §§ 11-47-35 and 11-47-10 |
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| 54 | 54 | | 36, for breach of any of which the license shall be forfeited and the licensee subject to punishment 11 |
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| 55 | 55 | | as provided in this chapter: 12 |
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| 56 | 56 | | (1) The business shall be carried on only in the building designated in the license. 13 |
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| 57 | 57 | | (2) The license or a copy of it, certified by the issuing authority, shall be displayed on the 14 |
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| 58 | 58 | | premises where it can easily be read. 15 |
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| 59 | 59 | | (3) No pistol or revolver shall be sold in violation of any provision of this chapter, nor shall 16 |
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| 60 | 60 | | a pistol or revolver be sold under any circumstances unless the purchaser is personally known to 17 |
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| 61 | 61 | | the seller or shall present clear evidence of his or her identity. 18 |
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| 62 | 62 | | (4) The fee for issuing the license shall be five dollars ($5.00). The fee charged for the 19 |
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| 63 | 63 | | issuing of the license shall be applied for the use and benefit of the city or town. 20 |
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| 64 | 64 | | (b) No licensing authority shall issue a license pursuant to the provisions of subsection (a) 21 |
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| 65 | 65 | | of this section for a business to be conducted at a location in violation of the provisions of § 11-47-22 |
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| 66 | 66 | | 39.1. 23 |
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| 67 | 67 | | SECTION 3. This act shall take effect upon passage. 24 |
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| 68 | 68 | | ======== |
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| 69 | 69 | | LC002830 |
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| 72 | 72 | | |
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| 73 | 73 | | LC002830 - Page 3 of 3 |
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| 74 | 74 | | EXPLANATION |
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| 75 | 75 | | BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL |
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| 76 | 76 | | OF |
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| 77 | 77 | | A N A C T |
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| 78 | 78 | | RELATING TO CRIMINAL OFFENSES -- WEAPONS |
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| 79 | 79 | | *** |
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| 80 | 80 | | This act would prohibit the sale of firearms by a dealer within five hundred feet (500') of a 1 |
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| 81 | 81 | | school or daycare center. Existing gun dealers with established business location as of July 1, 2023 2 |
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| 82 | 82 | | would be grandfathered. 3 |
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| 83 | 83 | | This act would take effect upon passage. 4 |
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| 84 | 84 | | ======== |
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| 85 | 85 | | LC002830 |
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