Limiting Magazine Capacity
House Bill 6614 – Sponsored by Rep. Caldwell, Co-Sponsored by Reps Knight, Blazejewski, Kazarian, Craven, McNamara, Felix, Ajello, McEntee, Williams
Senate Bill 2653 – Sponsored by Sen. Coyne, Co-Sponsored by Goodwin, Miller, DiPalma, Felag, Quezada, Seveney, Euer, Lawson, DiMario
MARCH 23 2022 – Washington becomes the 10th state to limit magazine capacity. Gov. Jay Inslee also signed a bill that prohibits open or concealed carry from ballot counting sites or on-campus school board meetings, as well as a bill that adds further restrictions on ghost guns.
71.5%
of Rhode Islanders are in favor of limiting magazines to 10 rounds.
Source: 2020 RI Statewide Poll on Gun Safety and Gun Violence Prevention
This act would make it a felony for an individual to possess any semi-automatic firearm magazine which is capable of holding more than 10 rounds of ammunition. Limited exceptions for firearms dealers, law enforcement and military.
Incidents Involving Large Capacity Magazines on the Rise
“Hundreds of rounds” were fired
February 2022 – An unprecedented shootout in Providence “involved more bullets and carried greater risk for police officers and residents than any gunfight they’ve encountered,” according to law enforcement.
Due to the intensity of the shooter’s gunfire and the large cache of weapons at his disposal, police response during the shootout on Denison Street included the use of a Throwbot robot and a Bearcat tactical vehicle.
Burrillville Arsenal Included Many Extended Magazines
February 2022 – Police have confiscated 211 firearms, including 115 handguns, and “pounds and pounds” of ammunition at the home of a man who had terrorized his neighbors: “He was constantly firing thousands of rounds a day.” Warning: The following video contains material that some viewers may find disturbing.
Over Four Dozen Casings Found in Aftermath of Gun Fight
May 2021 – 9 people were shot, 3 critically, in the worst shooting in Providence’s history; approximately 51 bullet casings were found in the street and around the crime scene, as well as bullets that went into a home across the street. Over a dozen guns were seized from the property in two raids as well.
22+ Rounds Fired in 6 Seconds
May 2020 – Attorney General Peter Neronha provided RICAGV with a video (below) from an incident in Pawtucket in which a boy crouches and then darts away while an AR-15 shoots from a car in front of him. Warning: The following video contains material that some viewers may find disturbing.
“Bro you got to buy extends … That sells ‘em… ”
Court documents of a straw buyer scheme include the above text between a Providence man and a North Providence man, urging the purchase of extended capacity magazines in addition to firearms.
This case was concluded when in September 2021 Attorney General Peter Neronha announced that the two men were sentenced to 10 years in a wide-scale illegal gun buy scheme to purchase and sell 89 handguns between June 2019 and August 2020. One of the men had originally reported over 50 guns stolen, but Providence Police quickly uncovered their scheme. More than $40,000 was spent on guns and ammunition and the men visited gun shops in Providence, Woonsocket, Warwick, Cranston and North Kingstown with the intent to sell to prohibited purchasers.
It’s About Public Safety
It is time to put public safety first and join with these states to reduce the number of these uniquely dangerous weapons from our communities.
⇒ Connecticut
⇒ Massachusetts
⇒ New York
⇒ New Jersey
⇒ Vermont
⇒ Maryland
⇒ California
⇒ Colorado
⇒ Hawaii
⇒ D.C.
Mass Shootings with Large Capacity Magazines are Much More Lethal
Key findings in “The Effect of Large Capacity Magazine Bans on High-Fatality Mass Shootings, 1990-2017,” published in the American Journal of Public Health in 2019:
- At minimum, large capacity magazines were used in 64% of high-fatality mass shootings perpetrated between 1990 and 2017
- More people are killed when LCMs were used
- States that limit LCMs experienced a lower rate of incidents and lower fatality counts
Preferred by Mass Shooters
18 of the 20 deadliest shootings in the last decade have included the use of large capacity magazines.
>> Almost all occured in minutes, with shooters firing dozens, and sometimes hundreds, of bullets.
Criminal Use of Assault Weapons and High-Capacity Semiautomatic Firearms
Journal of Public Health, 2017
Trend analyses indicate that high-capacity semiautomatics have
grown from 33 to 112% as a share of crime guns since the expiration of the federal ban
a trend that has coincided with recent growth in shootings nationwide.
MAGAZINE CAPACITY FOR HUNTING IN RI:
5 for deer ~ 3 for duck
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