Most basically, the legislation – headed for first-ever votes in the Rhode Island legislature – would prohibit the manufacture, purchase, sale, transfer and possession of certain "assault weapons," including certain types of semiautomatic shotguns, rifles and pistols.

WASHINGTON — A closely divided Supreme Court refused Monday to hear a 2nd Amendment challenge to the bans on semiautomatic rifles in Maryland, California and eight other blue states.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A split Supreme Court declined on Monday to hear a challenge to a state ban on assault weapons, semiautomatic rifles that are popular among gun owners and that have also been used in multiple mass shootings.