H 7754Criminal Procedure

Criminal Offenses - Weapons

This bill prohibits out-of-state residents from applying for concealed carry pistol permits through Rhode Island city or town licensing authorities.

Held for study

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Introduced Feb 12, 2026Committee House Judiciary

Plain-English Summary

This legislation amends the Rhode Island General Laws regarding the issuance of licenses to carry concealed pistols or revolvers. Specifically, it modifies the eligibility requirements for permits issued by city or town licensing authorities. The bill removes the provision that previously allowed individuals who reside outside of Rhode Island (but within the United States) to apply for a municipal concealed carry permit if they held a valid permit from another state. Under this new legislation, only individuals with a bona fide residence or place of business within the specific city or town may apply for that municipality's concealed carry license.

For younger readers

This law changes the rules for who can get a license to carry a hidden handgun from a town or city in Rhode Island. Before this change, people who lived in other states could ask a Rhode Island town for a license if they already had one from their home state. Now, the law says you must actually live in that town or own a business there to get a license from them. People who live outside of the state can no longer get this specific license from the local town hall.

Who & Where It Applies

Impacted groups

Gun ownersNon-residentsMunicipal Licensing AuthoritiesBusiness ownersPolice Departments

Impacted communities

All

Constitutional & Fiscal Check

Moderate risk

Moderate Risk. The bill removes a pathway for non-residents to exercise Second Amendment rights within the state. While states can regulate carrying of firearms, the Supreme Court's *Bruen* decision emphasizes that objective standards must be used. If the alternative route for non-residents (the Attorney General's office) is too burdensome or discretionary, this restriction could be challenged as infringing on the right to bear arms or the Privileges and Immunities Clause regarding interstate travel.

Estimated cost

None

Estimated revenue

Amount unknown

Bill Analysis

Both viewpoints

For Progressives

Reduces the overall volume of concealed carry permits issued by limiting the pool of eligible applicants to local residents and business owners only.
Prevents non-residents from "shopping" for permits in specific towns that might be perceived as having more lenient approval processes than others.
Reinforces local control by ensuring that municipal authorities are focusing their resources and vetting processes on community members they are more likely to know.
Continues to prioritize property and business owners by allowing them to obtain permits, potentially favoring the wealthy over those with only personal safety concerns.
Does not address or remove the subjective "suitability" and "good reason" standards, which can be applied inequitably against marginalized groups.
Maintains the underlying system of municipal concealed carry licensing rather than moving toward a centralized, stricter state-level only system.

For Conservatives

Clarifies the jurisdiction of local licensing authorities, ensuring that town resources are dedicated to processing applications for their own tax-paying residents and business owners.
Protects the rights of local business owners to secure means of self-defense within the municipality where they operate their commercial enterprises.
Preserves the privacy protections regarding the release of name and address data for those who are still eligible to hold the license.
Restricts Second Amendment rights by stripping law-abiding non-residents of the ability to obtain a municipal carry permit, ending a form of interstate reciprocity.
Forces non-residents to rely solely on the Attorney General's office for permitting, which is often viewed by conservatives as a more bureaucratic and restrictive process.
Diminishes the validity of permits issued by other states, signaling a lack of trust in the vetting processes of other jurisdictions.

Votes

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Full Bill Text

Changes to existing Rhode Island law · 2 additions · 4 deletions

SECTION 1. Section 11-47-11 of the General Laws in Chapter 11-47 entitled "Weapons" is hereby amended to read as follows: 11-47-11. License or permit to carry concealed pistol or revolver.

(a) The licensing authorities of any city or town shall, upon application of any person twenty-one (21) years of age or over having a bona fide residence or place of business within the city or town, ~~or of any person twenty-one (21) years of age or over having a bona fide residence~~ ~~within the United States and a license or permit to carry a pistol or revolver concealed upon his or~~ ~~her person issued by the authorities of any other state or subdivision of the United States,~~ issue a license or permit to the person to carry concealed upon his or her person a pistol or revolver everywhere within this state for four (4) years from date of issue, if it appears that the applicant has good reason to fear an injury to his or her person or property or has any other proper reason for carrying a pistol or revolver, and that he or she is a suitable person to be so licensed. The license or permit shall be in triplicate in on a form to be prescribed by the attorney general and shall bear the fingerprint, photograph, name, address, description, and signature of the licensee and the reason given for desiring a license or permit and in no case shall it contain the serial number of any firearm. The original shall be delivered to the licensee. Any member of the licensing authority, its agents, servants, and employees shall be immune from suit in any action, civil or criminal, based upon any official act or decision, performed or made in good faith in issuing a license or permit under this chapter.

(b) Notwithstanding any other chapter or section of the general laws of the state of Rhode Island, the licensing authority of any city or town shall not provide or release to any individual, firm, association or corporation the name, address, or date of birth of any person who has held or currently holds a license or permit to carry a concealed pistol or revolver. This section shall not be construed to prohibit the release of any statistical data of a general nature relative to age, gender and racial or ethnic background nor shall it be construed to prevent the release of information to parties involved in any prosecution of § 11-47-8 or in response to a lawful subpoena in any criminal or civil action which the person is a party to that action.

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.