


Neronha is the state's top law-enforcement officer, but not the only advocate for size limits on high-capacity magazines to sound a warning on Friday ahead of what is expected to be a contentious, hours-long debate between lawmakers on opposing sides of the gun-rights versus public-safety debate. "Rhode Island should learn from the experience of states such as California and New York, which have both repealed previously enacted grandfathering provisions for this very reason," Neronha said.īottom line, he wrote: "This bill will save lives, but not if it contains an exception that swallows the rule." "Because law enforcement would be unable to verify whether an individual possessed a magazine prior to the effective date of this legislation, such an exemption would serve as a readily available defense for every prospective criminal defendant.
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He explained: "Most high-capacity magazines do not have identifying marks, serial numbers or registration numbers, which could be used to indicate when they were manufactured or sold.

"The addition of a grandfather clause would render this legislation unenforceable and functionally meaningless."
