Bump Stocks, Binary Triggers, and Trigger Cranks

Rhode Island General Laws Section 11-47-8(d)^[1] makes it unlawful to possess a bump-fire device, binary trigger, trigger crank, or any other device that, when attached to a semi-automatic weapon, allows full-automatic fire. The statute is framed as a possession ban, and owners were given ninety days from enactment to sell, destroy, or otherwise remove these devices from the state. The legislature added this prohibition in 2018 (P.L. 2018, ch. 5 and ch. 8).

Covered Devices

The statute defines the prohibited category broadly. A bump-fire stock is defined in Section 11-47-2 as any device that replaces a semi-automatic weapon's standard stock and is designed to slide back and forth rapidly, harnessing the weapon's recoil to rapidly fire the weapon. A binary trigger fires one round on the trigger pull and a second round on the trigger release. A trigger crank is defined in RIGL 11-47-2 as a trigger actuator that attaches to the trigger of a semi-automatic weapon and causes the weapon to fire by turning the crank handle. The catch-all provision captures "any other device that when attached to a semi-automatic weapon allows full-automatic fire," which gives the statute forward-looking coverage over future devices that enable full-automatic fire. The three named devices are banned outright, but the catch-all does not reach accessories that merely increase the rate of fire without allowing full-automatic fire.^[2]

Relationship to Federal Law

The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) issued a rule in 2018 classifying bump stocks as machine guns under the National Firearms Act. The Supreme Court struck down that federal rule in Garland v. Cargill (2024), holding that a semiautomatic rifle equipped with a nonmechanical bump stock is not a machine gun under the statutory definition. The definition of machine gun in 27 CFR 478.11 does not mention bump stocks.^[4] That federal regulatory cleanup has no effect on Rhode Island's state-level ban, which rests on an independent statutory authority under Section 11-47-8(d). Rhode Island residents remain prohibited from possessing these devices regardless of the federal outcome.

Penalties

Violations are punishable by imprisonment for not less than one nor more than ten years, a fine of up to $10,000, or both, and except for a first conviction the offender may not receive a suspended or deferred sentence or probation.^[3] There is no grandfather clause for devices possessed before the effective date. Individuals who possessed these items had ninety days from enactment to sell, destroy or otherwise remove them from Rhode Island.