To be safe and not to break the law should be a mandatory thing. If you live in Rhode Island or expect to move there for an airsoft match, you need to be aware of certain rules that are important to be followed in order to avoid a risk.
I have made a research on the Rhode Island Law regarding firearms and airsoft gun replicas and I decided to make a summary of all interesting things that I have found.
Sometimes the law does not specify what you are allowed to do or not, however there are also some common practices that work in reality and I feel that I must share them with you.
We will begin from the actual law that is written and must be respected and we will finish with the best practices that will make it sure that no police officers get in argument with you about airsoft replicas, nor the common folk report you and cause an incident.
Here you can find the government page that lists the familiar laws regarding the firearms if you want to make a more detailed research on the law than what I am providing you with.
Are airsoft guns legal in Rhode Island?
Airsoft guns do not fall in a category of firearms and therefore, are legal.
Quoting the law, under the term „firearm“ fall any machine gun, rifle, air rifle, pistol, air pistol, blank gun , BB gun or other instrument from which metal or steel projectiles are propelled.
Airsoft guns are not Air guns or BB guns, Air guns and BB guns are way more powerful types of guns that often get mistaken for Airsoft guns.
They use the steel ammunition instead of the plastic ones and are differently designed, in short they are designed for pest control, hunting and recreational marksmanship.
Airsoft guns can be found very cheap and very weak in power in local stores. Such weak and cheap guns are seen as toys and kids use them, so the high end airsoft guns only differ from the cheap ones because they are made from quality materials and do not necessary use the spring motion to generate pressure but gas or electricity.
They all use the plastic BBs and It is easy to assume that they are just a high class toys made for shooting at each other.
Do you need a license to purchase and own an airsoft gun in Rhode Island?
You do not need to have a license when purchasing or using an airsoft gun. You do not even have to be 18 to own one.
It is important to mention that owning the airsoft replica comes with responsibilities regarding the requirement of a license or not. Treat it just as you would a real gun.
If this statement does not make sense to you, just think about how dangerous the airsoft gun can be in some situations that may not be lethal but still may hurt you permanently.
I will leave here a few examples like hurt eyes, damaged property that may lead to a lawsuit or the most dangerous one and a possibly lethal one, the misunderstanding with the police officers on a public property.
In order to stay safe, wear protective eye gear, do not hold a finger on the trigger and do not display it publicly or in presence of anyone who is not familiar with the story.
Also bear in mind that carrying and displaying a gun nearby any school may be considered as a law breaking action.
Is removing the orange tip illegal in Rhode Island?
You should not remove the orange tip in Rhode Island if you plan to display it in public. But you should not display it in a public anyways at the very first place.
No matters what the state law says, there is a Federal law that prohibits the sale of airsoft guns without orange markings. This law is important for all sellers for both importing and direct selling in stores.
The Federal law wants you to purchase it with orange tip and to keep it on in order to be able to tell it a part from a real gun.
However, you will often hear that it does not matter and that you can freely remove it once you purchase it and leave the store.
This is partially true, because there perhaps are not any laws in the state that prohibit it and that will punish you but the orange tips are there for a reason.
Orange tips make it easier to distinguish an airsoft guns from a real gun, but this barely works from a distance or in most of the close up scenarios anyways.
If you display it in public you will provoke the common folk who will not care for the orange tips and all they will see is a gun that threatens their lives.
The police officers may react with fire if they see you holding it. Please be extremely cautious when transporting them through public places.
Always carry it in a bag and do not take it out before you reach the gaming field or a private property.
Are you allowed to shoot airsoft guns on a private property ?
Some people just like to shoot the bottles or cans in their backyard and if you find yourself to be one of them, just go ahead.
On a private property the only things you need it is a consensus from the property owner.
Be aware that you do not accidentally shoot out of the property, because if your neighbour finds the BB on their part of the property they may sue you.
The same applies for the random passengers who do not expect to be shoot in the forehead in the middle of a walk.