Hundreds of protestors gather for hearing on Rhode Island gun ban bill

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — Hundreds of protestors gathered at the Rhode Island State House Wednesday for a hearing on the Rhode Island Assault Weapons Ban Act of 2025.

The House Judiciary Committee had a hearing on the bill, which would ban the sale, purchase, and possession of assault weapons.

“Ronald Reagan once said it’s not that our liberal friends are stupid, it’s just that they know so much that isn’t so,” Rep. Michael Chippendale said. “The people pushing this bill know so much that isn’t so, and they think that know us. Do they know us? They don’t know us.”

Meanwhile, Gov. Dan McKee, who was also trying to get the ban through in his state budget, said the ban would make the state safer.

“What’s happening today at the State House is democracy in action: there’s gonna be hearings, there’s gonna be ability of people to testify, provide their opinions,” the governor said. “I believe that the state overall supports gun safety legislation.”