Rhode Island lawmakers have crossed a dangerous new line.

After passing a 2025 law banning the sale and transfer of commonly owned semi-automatic firearms—while at least pretending to respect existing owners through a grandfather clause—legislators have now introduced a far more aggressive proposal in 2026: House Bill H 8073, which would criminalize the possession of firearms that were previously lawful to own.

Let that sink in.

Firearms that Rhode Islanders legally purchased, possessed, and relied upon for self-defense could suddenly render them felons overnight, facing up to 10 years in prison and $10,000 in fines.

This is not merely bad policy.

It is a direct collision with the United States Constitution—and it implicates far more than just the Second Amendment.

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The Second Amendment: “Shall Not Be Infringed” Still Means Something

At its core, this legislation runs headfirst into the Supreme Court’s modern Second Amendment jurisprudence—particularly New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen.

Under Bruen, the government must justify firearm regulations by demonstrating that they are consistent with the Nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation.

There is no historical tradition—none—of:

• Declaring commonly owned firearms illegal after the fact
• Criminalizing mere possession of arms in common use
• Forcing law-abiding citizens to surrender or destroy constitutionally protected property

In fact, the Supreme Court in District of Columbia v. Heller made clear that the Second Amendment protects arms “in common use” for lawful purposes.

The firearms targeted by Rhode Island’s law—semi-automatic rifles, pistols, and shotguns—are among the most commonly owned arms in America.

This proposal doesn’t regulate the right.

It destroys it.

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Takings Clause: Government Confiscation Without Compensation

This legislation also implicates the Fifth Amendment’s Takings Clause, which prohibits the government from taking private property for public use without just compensation.

Rhode Island’s proposal effectively says:

“Turn in your lawfully owned firearm—or become a criminal.”

That is not regulation.

That is confiscation.

And confiscation without compensation is precisely what the Constitution forbids.

Even prior litigation over magazine bans has raised this exact issue, with plaintiffs arguing that forced surrender of lawfully owned property violates the Takings Clause.

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Due Process: Criminalizing Innocent Conduct After the Fact

The bill also raises serious Fourteenth Amendment Due Process concerns.

Americans are entitled to fair notice of what conduct is criminal.

But Rhode Island’s proposal would:

• Retroactively criminalize previously lawful possession
• Punish individuals who complied fully with the law at the time of purchase
• Transform ordinary citizens into criminals without any wrongful act

This is the very definition of arbitrary government action, which the Due Process Clause is designed to prevent.

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Ex Post Facto Principles: Punishment After the Fact

While technically framed as a forward-looking prohibition, the practical effect is indistinguishable from an ex post facto law:

• The state authorizes conduct
• Citizens rely on that authorization
• The state later criminalizes the same conduct

The Constitution forbids this type of bait-and-switch governance.

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Equal Protection: Targeting Law-Abiding Citizens

Criminals, by definition, do not comply with firearm laws.

This legislation targets only one group:

Law-abiding citizens who followed the rules

By singling out compliant individuals for severe penalties—while doing little to address criminal misuse—the law arguably raises serious Equal Protection concerns under the Fourteenth Amendment.

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Rhode Island’s Own Constitution Is Being Ignored

Even more striking: Rhode Island’s own constitution explicitly provides:

“The right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.”

Yet this legislation would do exactly that—infringe, directly and substantially.

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From “We’re Not Coming for Your Guns” to… Exactly That

When Rhode Island passed its 2025 assault weapons law, legislators emphasized that it “did not ban possession”—a strategic move widely seen as an attempt to avoid constitutional scrutiny.

Now, just one year later, lawmakers are proposing to eliminate that very protection.

This confirms what many gun owners feared:

Grandfather clauses are not a safeguard—they are a stepping stone.

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Coming Soon to Massachusetts? Don’t Be So Sure It Won’t

If you practice law—or live—in Massachusetts, this should sound alarm bells.

Massachusetts already has:

• An expansive prohibition framework for what are falsely called “assault weapons”
• Broad discretionary licensing under G.L. c. 140 §131
• A judiciary far too often deferential to regulatory authority when it comes to firearms

The Rhode Island model provides a blueprint:

1. Ban sales
2. Normalize restrictions
3. Expand to possession bans

Once that framework is politically normalized next door, it becomes far easier for Massachusetts legislators to argue:

“Rhode Island has already done it.”

And as history shows, Massachusetts rarely moves in a more liberty-protective direction than its neighbors.

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SCOTUS: The Time to Act Is Now

The United States Supreme Court has thus far declined to take up several post-Bruen challenges to so-called “assault weapons” bans, leaving lower courts divided and, in many cases, openly resistant to Bruen’s framework.

But cases like this—where a state seeks to:

• Criminalize possession of common firearms
• Confiscate lawfully owned property
• Punish citizens retroactively

—present the cleanest possible scenario for review.

If the Second Amendment means anything, it must mean that:

The government cannot outlaw the very arms Americans overwhelmingly choose for lawful self-defense.

This is no longer a marginal regulatory question.

It is a constitutional tipping point.

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Conclusion: A Line That Cannot Be Crossed

Rhode Island’s proposed law is not just another gun control measure.

It is:

• A direct assault on the Second Amendment
• A violation of property rights
• A shocking Due Process violation
• A warning shot for neighboring states and others who harbor the same extremist fixation on their opposition to this right

If allowed to stand, it will redefine the relationship between citizens and their government in a way the Framers explicitly sought to prevent.

The question can no longer whether the US Supreme Court will intervene. Its inexcusable lack of intervention thus far is what has caused such audacious legislation to be filed.

The question is whether they will do so before fundamental rights are irreparably destroyed.