Only one month after the tragedy that took place at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, the United States Congress managed to pass a gun control bill that Joe Biden signed into law. It was the fastest that Americans have seen Congress work in a long time.
One thing the liberals very much wanted was a ban on assault-style weapons or magazines, but that was not included in the bill. Rhode Island’s new law, however, does include a ban on large-capacity magazines.
Last week, Governor Dan McKee signed three gun-control bills into law. One will prohibit the possession of gun magazines that hold more than 10 rounds of ammunition, reports the Providence Journal. The state did not have the same support for banning assault weapons.
“In addition to banning large-capacity gun magazines, the bill raises the state’s minimum age for buying rifles and shotguns from 18 to 21 and prohibits loaded rifles and shotguns from being carried in public. Current state law already bars the sale or possession of handguns to people under 21,” reports Fox News.
Anyone who already owns a high-capacity magazine has six months to either modify it, surrender it to police or transfer it to someone in a state where they are legal. After six months, anyone still in possession of an outlawed magazine could face up to five years in prison or a fine of up to $5,000. Law enforcement and anyone in the military are exempted.
The Rhode Island Libertarian Party had this to say about the new law:
Second Amendment advocates have vowed to fight the law in court. One argument is that the ban on high-capacity magazines, without compensation, is an illegal “taking” under the U.S. Constitution.
After the Supreme Court just overturned a century-old New York gun law on Second Amendment grounds, it is hard to imagine that it would uphold this new Rhode Island law. If you lived in Rhode Island, would you surrender your magazines, especially without compensation?
