State Gun Laws

Rhode Island law says that a person can’t have or buy a firearm if s/he was convicted of or pled “no contest” (“nolo contendere”) to certain crimes in Rhode Island or similar crimes elsewhere. This includes if the person was:

• convicted of a crime of violence;¹
• convicted of or pled “no contest” to a domestic violence felony, which includes:
  • felony assault;
  • kidnapping;
  • child-snatching;
  • sexual assault in the first or second degree;
  • homicide, which includes murder or manslaughter;
  • stalking;
  • burglary and breaking and entering, which includes:
    • attempted breaking and entering;
    • unlawful breaking and entering of a dwelling house;
    • unlawful breaking and entering of dwelling with possession of instruments relating to wrongful setting of fires; and
    • breaking and entering of a dwelling when resident on premises;
  • arson in the first, second, third, fourth, fifth, or sixth degree; and
  • strangulation;²
• convicted of or pled “no contest” to three or more repeated domestic violence misdemeanors, which gets punished as a felony^;3
• convicted of one of the following domestic violence misdemeanors:
  • simple assault;
  • cyberstalking and cyberharassment;
  • violation of a protective order, as explained in section 12-29-2(a)(10); or
  • disorderly conduct if it involved force, attempted force, or a threat with a weapon;⁴

It is also illegal for the abuser to have a gun if s/he is:

• a fugitive from justice, meaning the person fled any state to avoid being prosecuted or to avoid testifying in any criminal case;⁵ or
• in community confinement or being monitored electronically as part of parole.⁶

Federal law, which applies to all states, also bans an abuser from having a gun if s/he was convicted of any felony or a domestic violence misdemeanor.⁷ Go to Federal Gun Laws to get more information.

¹ R.I. Gen. Laws §§ 11-47-5(a)(1); 11-47-2(5)
² R.I. Gen. Laws §§ 11-47-5(a)(3); 12-29-5(d), (g); 12-29-2(a)(2), (a)(6)-(9), (a)(11), (a)(13)-(14), (a)(16)
³ R.I. Gen. Laws §§ 11-47-5(a)(3); 12-29-5(c)(1)(ii), (d), (g), (h)
⁴ R.I. Gen. Laws §§ 11-47-5(a)(4); 12-29-5(d), (h); 12-29-2(a)(1), (a)(15), (a)(10), (a)(4)
⁵ R.I. Gen. Laws §§ 11-47-5(a)(2); 11-47-2(7)
⁶ R.I. Gen. Laws § 11-47-5(c)
⁷ 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1), (g)(9)