Tiverton Town Council members voted overwhelmingly Monday evening to stand against companion assault weapons bills before the House and Senate, a resolution that deems them “an infringement” of citizens’ Second Amendment rights to keep and bear arms.

The vote was 6-1, with councilor Mike Burk dissenting.

The two companion bills — House bill H5436 and Senate bill S0359 — would, if passed, codify The Rhode Island Assault Weapons Ban Act of 2025. They are sponsored in the House by Barrington Rep. Jason Knight, an attorney and outspoken gun control advocate, and in the Senate by Rep. Louis DiPalma, who represents Tiverton, Little Compton, Middletown and Newport. Both bills are partisan in nature, with 10 Democrat and no Republican sponsors.

If passed, a wide range of firearms would be considered illegal under Rhode Island law, including many semiautomatic shotguns, rifles, pistols and other “assault-style” firearms.

Those found in violation of the law could be subject to fines up to $10,000, and could face prison terms of up to 10 years. Residents who already own such weapons would face charges if they do not either register them with local police, render them permanently inoperable, surrender them to law enforcement, or transfer or sell them to a licensed firearms dealer.

Some for, some against

There was considerable debate on either side of the issue Monday evening.

Jay Runci, the owner of Sakonnet River Outfitters, supported Committo’s resolution, saying the legislation is too broad. A ban of this magnitude could cost his business upwards of 90 percent of its income, he said.

“I won’t be able to pay my bills, this will absolutely ruin me,” Runci said.

Brayton Road resident Brian Brietzke also supported the resolution, noting that while he is in favor of gun safety and that weapons of war do not have a place in modern-day society, the firearms regulated in the bills are not weapons of war. He accused the general assembly of overreaching and said the state has very little gun violence.

Others opposed the resolution, saying it is overly broad and would be a “knee-jerk” response by the council.

Peaceful Way resident Maureen Morrow said she had heard that Committo’s resolution was prepared by an outside group opposed to any form of gun safety, and is written in a broad enough way that, in her opinion, it ends the discussion on all current gun legislation at the state level.

“To vote yes, to me, would be a knee-jerk reaction,” Morrow said.

Committo said he submitted the resolution because he believes the bills are poorly written and overly broad — “I don’t think the bill that is written right now properly describes what they want to do,” he said.

Councilor Janick had a similar take, saying the proposed legislation is “zero to 100 like there's nothing in between.”

The only dissent came from councilor Mike Burk, who just returned to the council following the resignation of Blake Hayden.

Burk said that while he was a hunter in his youth, he also sees both sides and thought Committo’s resolution was too broad.

— With reports by Ted Hayes