(a)  No person shall, without a license or permit issued as provided in §§ 11-47-11, 11-47-12, and 11-47-18, carry a pistol or revolver in any vehicle or conveyance or on or about his or her person whether visible or concealed, except in his or her dwelling house or place of business or on land possessed by him or her or as provided in § 11-47-9 and § 11-47-10. The provisions of these sections shall not apply to any person who is the holder of a valid license or permit issued by the licensing authority of another state, or territory of the United States, or political subdivision of the state or territory, allowing him or her to carry a pistol or revolver in any vehicle or conveyance or on or about his or her person whether visible or concealed, provided the person is merely transporting the firearm through the state in a vehicle or other conveyance without any intent on the part of the person to detain him or herself or remain within the state of Rhode Island. No person shall manufacture, sell, purchase, or possess a machine gun except as otherwise provided in this chapter. Every person violating the provision of this section shall, upon conviction, be punished by imprisonment for not less than one nor more than ten (10) years, or by a fine up to ten thousand dollars ($10,000), or both, and except for a first conviction under this section, shall not be afforded the provisions of suspension or deferment of sentence, nor a probation.

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Terms Used In Rhode Island General Laws 11-47-8

  • Binary trigger: means a device that replaces a standard trigger on a semi-automatic weapon and is designed to fire one round on the pull of the trigger and another round upon release of the trigger. See Rhode Island General Laws 11-47-2
  • Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
  • Firearm: includes any machine gun, pistol, rifle, air rifle, air pistol, "blank gun" "BB gun" or other instrument from which steel or metal projectiles are propelled, or that may readily be converted to expel a projectile, except crossbows, recurve, compound, or longbows, and except instruments propelling projectiles that are designed or normally used for a primary purpose other than as a weapon. See Rhode Island General Laws 11-47-2
  • Ghost gun: means a firearm, including a frame or receiver, that lacks a unique serial number engraved or cased in metal alloy on the frame or receiver by a licensed manufacturer, maker, or importer under federal law or markings in accordance with Rhode Island General Laws 11-47-2
  • Machine gun: means any weapon that shoots, is designed to shoot, or can be readily restored to shoot automatically more than one shot, without manual reloading, by a single function of the trigger. See Rhode Island General Laws 11-47-2
  • Person: includes an individual, partnership, firm, association, or corporation. See Rhode Island General Laws 11-47-2
  • Pistol: includes any pistol or revolver, and any shotgun, rifle, or similar weapon with overall length less than twenty-six inches (26?), but does not include any pistol or revolver designed for the use of blank cartridges only. See Rhode Island General Laws 11-47-2
  • Probation: A sentencing alternative to imprisonment in which the court releases convicted defendants under supervision as long as certain conditions are observed.
  • Sawed-off rifle: means any rifle with overall length of less than twenty-six inches (26?) or barrel length of less than sixteen inches (16?). See Rhode Island General Laws 11-47-2
  • Sawed-off shotgun: means any shotgun with overall length of less than twenty-six inches (26?) or barrel length of less than eighteen inches (18?). See Rhode Island General Laws 11-47-2
  • Sell: includes let or hire, give, lend, and transfer, and "purchase" includes hire, accept, and borrow, and "purchasing" shall be construed accordingly. See Rhode Island General Laws 11-47-2
  • Trigger crank: means a trigger actuator that attaches to the trigger of a semi-automatic weapon and causes the weapon to fire by turning the crank handle. See Rhode Island General Laws 11-47-2
  • Undetectable firearm: means any firearm that:

    (i)  After removal of all parts, other than a major component, is not as detectable by walk-through metal detectors commonly used at airports or other public buildings; or

    (ii)  Any major component of which, if subjected to inspection by the types of detection devices commonly used at airports or other public buildings for security screening, would not generate an image that accurately depicts the shape of the component; or

    (iii)  Is manufactured wholly of plastic, fiberglass, or through a 3D printing process; or

    (iv)  Upon which the frame or receiver lacks a unique serial number engraved or cased into on the frame or receiver by a licensed manufacturer, maker, or importer under federal law, or markings in accordance with Rhode Island General Laws 11-47-2

  • United States: include the several states and the territories of the United States. See Rhode Island General Laws 43-3-8

(b)  No person shall have in his or her possession or under his or her control any sawed-off shotgun or sawed-off rifle as defined in § 11-47-2. Any person convicted of violating this subsection shall be punished by imprisonment for up to ten (10) years, or by a fine of up to five thousand dollars ($5,000), or both.

(c)  No person shall have in his or her possession or under his or her control any firearm while the person delivers, possesses with intent to deliver, or manufactures a controlled substance. Any person convicted of violating this subsection shall be punished by imprisonment for not less than two (2) years nor more than twenty (20) years, and the sentence shall be consecutive to any sentence the person may receive for the delivery, possession with intent to deliver, or the manufacture of the controlled substance. It shall not be a defense to a violation of this subsection that a person has a license or permit to carry or possess a firearm.

(d)  It shall be unlawful for any person to possess a bump-fire device, binary trigger, trigger crank, or any other device that when attached to a semi-automatic weapon allows full-automatic fire. Individuals who possess these items shall have ninety (90) days from the enactment of this section to either sell, destroy, or otherwise remove these items from the state of Rhode Island. Every person violating the provisions of this section shall, upon conviction, be punished by imprisonment for not less than one nor more than ten (10) years, or by a fine up to ten thousand dollars ($10,000), or both, and, except for a first conviction under this section, shall not be afforded the provisions of suspension or deferment of sentence, nor a probation.

(e)  No person shall manufacture, sell, offer to sell, transfer, purchase, possess, or have under his or her control a ghost gun or an undetectable firearm or any firearm produced by a 3D printing process. Any person convicted of violating this subsection shall be punished by imprisonment of not more than ten (10) years, or by a fine up to ten thousand dollars ($10,000), or both and except for a first conviction under this section shall not be afforded the provisions of suspension or deferment of sentence, probation, nor fine. These provisions shall not apply to federally licensed manufacturers (Federal Firearm License Type 07) pursuant to Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) regulations.

History of Section.
P.L. 1927, ch. 1052, § 4; G.L. 1938, ch. 404, § 4; G.L. 1956, § 11-47-5; G.L., § 11-47-8; P.L. 1959, ch. 75, § 1; P.L. 1968, ch. 183, § 3; P.L. 1974, ch. 184, § 1; P.L. 1975, ch. 278, § 1; P.L. 1988, ch. 389, § 1; P.L. 1991, ch. 227, § 1; P.L. 1992, ch. 422, § 1; P.L. 1992, ch. 460, § 1; P.L. 2000, ch. 109, § 11; P.L. 2018, ch. 5, § 3; P.L. 2018, ch. 8, § 3; P.L. 2020, ch. 9, § 2; P.L. 2020, ch. 10, § 2; P.L. 2023, ch. 395, art. 2, § 3, effective June 27, 2023.