Justin Davis, director of public affairs for the National Rifle Association (NRA), says with SB 2710, Rhode Island Democrats are again attempting to outlaw the possession of some of the most-owned firearms in America.
The proposal adds "possession" to the list of prohibited actions regarding certain semi-automatic firearms, making it illegal to own them, even if they were legally acquired before the law takes effect. It targets the semi-automatic rifles, pistols and shotguns that millions of law-abiding citizens rely on for self-defense, sport and tradition.
The measure would push Rhode Island beyond California, New York and New Jersey by not just restricting future sales of certain firearms, but by making continued possession of previously legal guns a felony.
Davis says what makes this proposal especially alarming is not just what it bans, but how it leaves enforcement hanging in the air.
"Rhode Island may be a tiny state, but it's got huge problems," he tells AFN. "Just a year after passing a ban on the sale of so-called assault weapons, which are really just the most commonly owned firearms in the country, we're seeing a push for a confiscation on all of that property by law-abiding Rhode Islanders."
Pointing out that criminals who ignore the law "do not care about these types of confiscations," Davis says the bill is conspicuously silent on how the state intends to deal with currently owned firearms that would suddenly become illegal overnight.
"What will happen is law-abiding citizens will either have to sell their firearms at a very low rate, considering what they're worth, or have them destroyed, or be in violation of the law," the NRA spokesman summarizes. "This is a microcosm of what we're seeing across the country and what the long-term plan is for gun-grabbing groups."
U.S. laws have occasionally required surrender or removal of specific categories of firearms after legal changes, but the 1934 National Firearms Act, the 1986 Hughes Amendment (Firearm Owners Protection Act) and local buyback programs have generally relied on registration, grandfathering or voluntary compliance rather than sweeping mandatory gun confiscation.
The closest historical equivalents to Rhode Island's proposed "assault weapon" laws are California, New York and New Jersey frameworks, but even those state laws typically relied heavily on grandfathering or registration windows; SB 2710 trends toward tighter definitions, fewer long-term possession protections and stronger enforcement consequences for continued ownership.
SB 2710 is still in the early committee stage of the process, but its Democratic supporters hope to begin implementing the restrictions by July 1.
Meanwhile, Davis points out that the 2026 midterms are coming, and he encourages voters in every state to remember which lawmakers treat the Second Amendment as optional and hold them accountable at the ballot box this November.
