Rhode Island State Gun Laws

In these pages, we refer to two types of gun laws:

1. Federal gun laws are laws that apply to all U.S. states and territories.
2. State gun laws are specific to each state or territory. 

The major differences between the two types of laws are:

• who makes the law;
• who prosecutes someone who breaks it; and
• what the punishment is for breaking it.

It’s important to know about both types of gun laws so you can understand all of the ways the abuser might break the law. This can help you protect yourself. In this section, we will mostly discuss your state’s gun laws. Check our Federal Gun Laws pages to see if any federal laws might apply to your situation. 

If you believe the abuser broke the law by having a gun, you can report it to the local police. You don’t need to be able to tell the police which law or if it’s a state or federal law. However, you should know that the local police can only arrest someone for breaking a state law. They cannot arrest someone for breaking a federal law. Only federal law enforcement can do that. For more information, see If I think the abuser has a gun illegally, who do I report it to?

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)