In his words, Rep. Jason Knight isn't "spiking the football," but his long-standing effort to enact an assault weapons ban in Rhode Island converted an extremely important "first down" Tuesday night, June 3, when his legislation passed out of committee in the House of Representatives.

By a considerable 12-6 vote, the House Judiciary Committee approved bill No. 2025-H 5436, which "refine(s) the definitions of the firearms that will be classified as assault weapons, and to replace a requirement that grandfathered assault weapons be registered with police with a voluntary certification program to provide owners proof that their weapons are grandfathered."

Knight, a Democrat first elected to House District 67 Warren, Barrington in the fall of 2016, has submitted similar pieces every session since 2018.

According to the complementary text, here's what the current incarnation does:

• Prohibit(s) the manufacture, purchase, sale, transfer and possession of certain assault weapons including certain types of semi-automatic shotguns, rifles and pistols. It also levies criminal penalties for anyone convicted of violating the ban; and provides exemptions to the ban for current and retired law enforcement officers, active-duty members of the armed forces, National Guard or reserves, federally licensed firearm dealers, and individuals who lawfully possess an assault weapon on the effective date of the ban.
• The amendment includes more precise definitions of the weapons that would be prohibited. Those who already own weapons classified as assault weapons when the ban takes effect on July 1, 2026, would still be allowed to keep them, just as they would in the original version of the bill.
• The amendment eliminates a requirement that they register them with local or state police. Instead, it creates a voluntary program through which those who already own assault weapons could get a certificate of possession from their local police department that would serve as legally admissible proof that their weapon is grandfathered. To assuage concerns that such certificates would serve as a de facto registry, the amendment’s language prohibits police from keeping any record of the application or granting of such certificates.
• Since the certificate program would be voluntary, grandfathered owners could legally opt to do nothing when the bill takes effect.
• Grandfathered owners would be subject to limitations on where they could possess the weapons. Allowable places would include their home, business or other property they own, licensed gun ranges and shooting clubs, sanctioned gun expos and similar events, and while transporting the weapon to and from such places or to a licensed gun dealer.

"I got here in '16 and sponsored this for first time in '18," Knight said Wednesday morning, June 4. "And I'm not spiking the football or doing anything like that because a committee vote is progress, but it's not the same as getting the whole law done. We have to get through the floor of the House, and it has to get through the Senate, and then put it up to the governor, where if he gets the bill, I expect he will sign it."

If eventually approved and penned by Gov. Dan McKee, the law would take effect July 1, 2026.

The full floor vote of the House is scheduled to take place Thursday evening, June 5. He has 39 co-sponsors of the bill in the chamber, including just about all of his fellow legislators from the East Bay.

Asked for his sense of the room, Knight said, "There's strong support in the house. I'm thankful to the speaker (K. Joseph Shekarchi) for moving the bill and sending it to the committee where it passed overwhelmingly, 12-6. And in the Senate, you know, I'm not in the Senate. I'm not part of those internal discussions. 
I hope they do the right thing and pass the bill."

The Senate is working on companion legislation, where Sen. Louis P. DiPalma (D-Dist. 12, Middletown, Little Compton, Tiverton, Newport) is the sponsor (2025-S 0359). DiPalma's bill has yet to advance out of committee.

Knight said not only did his bill this time have the backing of his peers, but also the general public. He pointed to a recent poll that claimed some 55 percent of residents in the state were in favor of the ban.

He noted as well, the Rhode Island State Police Department has expressed support of the bill. The Rhode Island Police Chiefs Association has not made a formal declaration.

"I think Rhode Islanders have been there for a long time. They don't want to see these weapons on the streets. They don't want, God forbid, a potential mass shooter being able to get his hands on one. 
And the politics is finally caught up to where the people are," Knight said.

He continued, "This is a common sense gun safety bill. You don't need an AR to defend your home. Some people will say they absolutely do, but you don't. You can have a pistol, you can have a long gun, you can have a shotgun. There's any number of types and styles of weapons that you can obtain in America today that aren't assault style weapons that will let you exercise your Second Amendment right.

"The public has recognized that these weapons, these assault style weapons, are preferred weapons of mass shooters. We have more mass shootings in the country than we used to, and it makes sense to limit the ability of a mass shooter and get their hands on."


For his part, Knight, a lawyer who has also been a public defender and a prosecutor, is quite familiar with the subject matter. He was raised in rural Idaho. His father is a former police officer. He is a veteran of the United States Navy.

"I grew up in the country. I grew up in Idaho. I know about guns. I was in the service. My dad was a cop. I had guns in my house, like, my entire life. Not now, but then. And I've been shooting them, and I know what I'm doing with them. I get it," Knight said.

He continued, "This is not eastern Idaho, where you going to make sure you watch out for rattlesnakes. My father was a police officer, and we had many firearms in the house. I learned how to use them at a very young age, and then I went in the service where I qualified to shoot firearms. And then I was a prosecutor and a defender, and I'm sort of adjacent to a lot of police activity that involves firearms. So I know what I'm talking about.

"I tell the truth and I check my facts and I make sure that I'm supporting good policy."