(a)  No person shall, in purchasing or otherwise securing delivery of a shotgun, rifle, pistol, or revolver, or in applying for a license or permit to carry it, give false information or offer false evidence of his or her identity.

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Terms Used In Rhode Island General Laws 11-47-23

  • Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
  • Firearm: includes any machine gun, pistol, rifle, air rifle, air pistol, "blank gun" "BB gun" or other instrument from which steel or metal projectiles are propelled, or that may readily be converted to expel a projectile, except crossbows, recurve, compound, or longbows, and except instruments propelling projectiles that are designed or normally used for a primary purpose other than as a weapon. See Rhode Island General Laws 11-47-2
  • Person: includes an individual, partnership, firm, association, or corporation. See Rhode Island General Laws 11-47-2
  • Pistol: includes any pistol or revolver, and any shotgun, rifle, or similar weapon with overall length less than twenty-six inches (26?), but does not include any pistol or revolver designed for the use of blank cartridges only. See Rhode Island General Laws 11-47-2
  • purchasing: shall be construed accordingly. See Rhode Island General Laws 11-47-2

(b)  No person shall knowingly purchase or otherwise obtain a shotgun, rifle, pistol, or revolver on behalf of another person, or transfer a shotgun, rifle, pistol, or revolver to another person, whom the transferor knows or reasonably should know is prohibited from possessing a firearm under federal or state law.

(c)  A first violation of the provisions of this section may be punished by a fine of not more than five thousand dollars ($5,000), imprisonment for not more than five (5) years, or both. A second or subsequent violation of the provisions of this section may be punished by a fine of not more than ten thousand dollars ($10,000), imprisonment for not more than ten (10) years, or both.

History of Section.
P.L. 1927, ch. 1025, § 11; G.L. 1938, ch. 404, § 11; G.L. 1956, § 11-47-17; G.L., § 11-47-23; P.L. 1959, ch. 75, § 1; P.L. 1990, ch. 37, § 2; P.L. 1990, ch. 300, § 1; P.L. 2013, ch. 455, § 3; P.L. 2013, ch. 464, § 3; P.L. 2021, ch. 339, § 1, effective July 12, 2021; P.L. 2021, ch. 340, § 1, effective July 12, 2021.