(a)  Any firearm seized or surrendered in accordance with this chapter shall be returned to the respondent upon his or her request, within ten (10) days, when:

(1)  The respondent produces documentation issued by the court indicating that any extreme risk protective order issued pursuant to this chapter has expired, terminated, or has not been renewed. Respondent shall not be required to acquire any additional court order granting the return of seized or surrendered firearms; and

(2)  The law enforcement agency in possession of the firearms conducts a national criminal records check and determines that the respondent is not otherwise prohibited from possessing a firearm under state or federal law.

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Terms Used In Rhode Island General Laws 8-8.3-8

  • Court: means the superior court in the county in which the respondent resides. See Rhode Island General Laws 8-8.3-1
  • Extreme risk protection order: means either a temporary order or a one-year order granted under this chapter. See Rhode Island General Laws 8-8.3-1
  • Firearm: means and 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 8-8.3-1
  • Law enforcement agency: means the police department of any city or town, and the division of the Rhode Island state police established pursuant to chapter 28 of Title 42. See Rhode Island General Laws 8-8.3-1
  • person: may be construed to extend to and include co-partnerships and bodies corporate and politic. See Rhode Island General Laws 43-3-6
  • Petitioner: means a law enforcement agency that petitions for an order pursuant to this chapter. See Rhode Island General Laws 8-8.3-1
  • Respondent: means the person who is identified as the respondent in a petition filed pursuant to this chapter. See Rhode Island General Laws 8-8.3-1

(b)  A law enforcement agency shall, if requested by the court or the petitioner, provide prior notice to any interested party, including but not limited to family or household members of the respondent, of the impending return of a firearm to a respondent, in the manner provided in § 8-8.3-6.

(c)  Upon written request of the respondent, any law enforcement agency storing firearm(s) shall transfer possession of the firearm(s) to a federally licensed firearms dealer, who or that may be designated by the respondent if so desired.

(1)  The respondent may instruct the federally licensed firearms dealer designated by the respondent where applicable to sell the firearm(s) or to transfer ownership or possession in accordance with state and federal law, to a qualified named individual who is not a member of the person‘s dwelling house, and who is not prohibited from possessing firearms under state or federal law. The owner of any firearm(s) sold shall receive any financial value received from its sale, less the cost associated with taking possession of, storing, and transferring of the firearm(s).

(2)  Any individual to whom possession of a firearm(s) is transferred pursuant to this subsection shall be prohibited from transferring or returning any firearm(s) to the respondent while the extreme risk protective order is in effect and shall be informed of this prohibition. Any knowing violation of this subsection is a felony that shall be punishable by imprisonment for a term of not more than five (5) years, or by a fine of not more than one thousand dollars ($1,000), or both.

(3)  An individual to whom possession of a firearm(s) is transferred pursuant to this subsection shall only return a firearm(s) to the respondent if the respondent provides court documentation that the extreme risk protection order issued pursuant to this chapter has expired or been withdrawn or terminated and has not been renewed.

(d)  The Rhode Island state police are authorized to develop rules and procedures pertaining to the storage and return of firearms seized by or surrendered to the local law enforcement agency or the state police pursuant to the provisions of this chapter or chapter 8.1 of Title 8. The state police may consult with the Rhode Island Police Chiefs’ Association in developing rules and procedures to effectuate this section.

History of Section.
P.L. 2018, ch. 6, § 1; P.L. 2018, ch. 7, § 1.