Rhode Island is a hybrid
shall/may issue permitting state. The licensing authorities of each town or city (police chief or town council if the locality has no police force) is given the authority to grant carry licenses on a shall-issue basis but until recently, many police chiefs and town officials had refused to issue. Often an applicant will be referred to the Attorney General’s office which is a "may issue" licensing authority. In practice, carry permits have been very hard to obtain from the Attorney General's Office under their strict interpretation of "proper showing of need", which has only become stricter under the current
Neronha administration who will only issue to those who can prove a specific threat to the applicant's life, have a work related purpose (security guard) or are a former police officer. However, the "shall" nature of the applicable statute is confusing, stating that the applicant should have "good reason to fear an injury to his or her person or property or has any other proper reason for carrying a pistol or revolver". Some local police chiefs disregard the "other proper reason" clause and require a letter of need. Most local police chiefs also use the Attorney General’s application (which does require need) and thus the chiefs simply follow suit. These towns have been known to require additional requirements that are not included in state law such as attending a firearm safety course, acquiring notarized reference letters, and re-qualifying with the caliber you wish to carry every time you renew. State law does, however, require an applicant for either permit to pass a skill test using the Army-L target at 25 yards, to be certified by a police official, National Rifle Association or United States Revolver Association Certified Instructor. In most cases, the Attorney General will not issue a permit unless the demonstrated need is extremely convincing (work purposes, threat to one's life, etc.). Upon denial, applicants are offered the opportunity to appeal, requiring an interview with Bureau of Criminal Investigation staff. This often results in the issuance of a restricted permit, often for target range use. However, state law does not grant the AG the authority to issue restricted permits and state law explicitly states that carrying a firearm to a target range does not require a permit.
Recent Developments in license to carry policies In April 2015, the
Rhode Island Supreme Court ruled that local police chiefs must issue licenses to carry to qualified applicants (e.g., those who pass a background check and complete the required firearms skill training). The ruling further states that local issuing authorities must "show cause" if an applicant is denied a permit to carry, and that simply stating the applicant is "not suitable" without substantive justification is no longer a valid reason for the denial of a carry license. In June 2022, the
United States Supreme Court ruled in
New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc. v. Bruen that the proper cause requirement in New York law for concealed pistol licenses was unconstitutional. In response, Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha issued a statement stating that Rhode Island was already in compliance with the Bruen decision since current Rhode Island law already requires local authorities to issue on a "shall-issue" basis as required by Bruen. He additionally stated that since Rhode Islanders have a method of acquiring concealed carry licenses without a showing of need or proper cause, he could continue requiring a "showing of need" for carry permits issued by his office. Non-resident permits can be issued by both the Attorney General's office and the local authorities of any town or city under 11–47–11, however, many localities refuse to issue to anyone who does not reside within their city or town, and instead direct them to the Attorney General in violation of state law. ==Castle law==