Listen up, folks. If you're in Rhode Island and been thinking about picking up an AR-15 or any semi-automatic rifle, I've got some bad news for you. Starting July 1st, it's going to be illegal to purchase or sell what the politicians are calling "assault weapons."
That's right — just days before we celebrate 250 years of American freedom (which, remind you, was won by citizens bearing arms), Rhode Island is making the modern equivalent of a musket illegal to buy. Nice timing, huh?
I've been watching the rush at my shop and others across the state. If you haven't already completed your paperwork and gotten the firearm in your hands by June 30, you're out of luck. One of my competitors, Surplus Provisions co-owner Tonya Pereira, put it plainly: "There are no exemptions built into this law that's going into effect." So if you don't have it in your hands by June 30, you legally can't pick it up. Period.
Now here's the laughable part — the Democrats who pushed this through claim it's about public safety. But according to the FBI, there were ZERO murders involving rifles in 2024. That's the most recent data we've got. So much for the "public safety" argument.
What this really comes down to is the Supreme Court told them they can't ban handguns (thank goodness), so now they're coming after something they think they can get away with. State Rep. Jason Knight, who sponsored the bill, actually said the goal is to "prevent the universe of weapons that are existing in the state from getting any bigger." That's code for: we want to stop you from exercising your Second Amendment rights, period.
Here's what Knight and his anti-freedom buddies don't understand — this law won't stop criminals from getting guns. They'll get them on the black market like they always do. All this ban does is disarm law-abiding citizens like you.
Virginia's seeing the same thing happen on July 1st, though they've got an injunction keeping it from being enforced for now. But here in Rhode Island, we're not so lucky.
My advice? Stay informed, stay armed, and remember — they take an inch, they want a mile. This is exactly why we need to keep fighting these unconstitutional laws.