Federal judge rules that Rhode Island's gun permit system does not violate 2nd Amendment
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The plaintiffs, largely led by Michael O'Neil, a lobbyist for the Rhode Island 2nd Amendment Coalition and a firearm instructor, said in their initial complaint that the attorney general's office denied all seven of their applications in 2021 for an 'unrestricted' firearm permit, allowing both open and concealed carry. Court documents show that the attorney general's office denied their permits because all of them had been granted 'restricted' permits, which only allowed concealed carry.
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Smith said in his ruling that unrestricted permits 'are a privilege and there is no constitutionally protected liberty interest in obtaining one.'
The plaintiffs had hoped for a similar ruling handed down by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2022, where the justices
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Similar to Rhode Island, New York's law had required residents to show an actual need to carry a concealed handgun in public for self-defense.
Yet, notably, Smith said in his ruling that the high court's 2022 ruling did not declare that the Second Amendment 'requires open carry,' but even if it did, Rhode Island's law 'is within the Nation's historical tradition of regulation.'
Frank Saccoccio, the attorney representing the gun owners, said in an email Monday that they did not believe Smith's decision was in line with the 2022 SCOTUS decision and would be appealing.
Timothy Rondeau, a spokesperson for the attorney general's office, said the decision reaffirmed 'the constitutionality of Rhode Island's permitting system for the public carry of handguns.'
'The Attorney General will continue to vigorously defend Rhode Island's gun violence prevention laws to ensure the public safety of all Rhode Islanders,' he said.
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