State Gun Laws

There are different reasons why it might be illegal for someone to have a gun. According to Rhode Island law, a person cannot have or buy a gun if s/he:

1. was convicted of a crime of violence;¹
2. was 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
3. was convicted of or pled “no contest” to three or more repeated domestic violence misdemeanors, which gets punished as a felony^;3
4. was 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
5. has a final domestic violence restraining order against him/her from family court or district court;⁵
6. is a fugitive from justice, meaning the person fled any state to avoid being prosecuted or to avoid testifying in any criminal case;⁶
7. is in community confinement or being monitored electronically as part of parole;⁷
8. is mentally incompetent under guardianship, treatment, or confinement;
9. has a drug addiction as determined by a court, or is being treated or confined because of it;⁸ or
10. is in the U.S. illegally (an “alien”).⁹

For numbers 1-4, the convictions or pleas could be from a Rhode Island court or somewhere else.

It could also be illegal for someone to have a gun because of federal gun laws, which apply to all states. Federal law bans a person from having a gun if:

• you have a protection order against him/her that meets certain conditions;
• s/he was convicted of any felony or a domestic violence misdemeanor;
• there is another reason under federal law that makes it illegal for him/her to have a gun.¹⁰

For more details, you can go to our Federal Gun Laws page.

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(b)
⁶ R.I. Gen. Laws §§ 11-47-5(a)(2); 11-47-2(7)
⁷ ​R.I. Gen. Laws § 11-47-5(c)
⁸ R.I. Gen. Laws § 11-47-6
⁹ R.I. Gen. Laws § 11-47-7(a)
¹⁰ 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)