R.I. Senate passes gun bills amid dramatic debates, protests

PROVIDENCE — A bill to limit gun magazine capacity to 10 rounds failed to make it out of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which deadlocked in a 6-to-6 vote.

But in a highly unusual move, the Senate’s Democratic leaders promptly took up the House version of the bill for immediate consideration and passed it by a vote of 25 to 11, sending it to Governor Daniel J. McKee, who has vowed to sign it into law.

The Senate also voted 31 to 5 for bills to prohibit the open carry of long guns in public and raise the age from 18 to 21 to buy long guns and ammunition Tuesday night, after a day of what that amounted to a dramatic game of political chess.

On Tuesday, opponents of the gun legislation chanted in the hallway and supporters lined the front row of seats in the committee room as the Senate Judiciary Committee voted 8 to 4 for the bill raising the age from 18 to 21. The committee then voted 9 to 3 for a bill that would prohibit the open carry of long guns.

Read more: https://www.bostonglobe.com/2022/06/14/metro/ri-senate-passes-gun-bills-amid-dramatic-moves/