New Gun Law
Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey signed a new firearm bill into law on Thursday, which gives courts greater power to take away a gun from an individual deemed a threat to themselves or others.
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The law also expanded the areas to which someone is not allowed to bring a gun, which now includes schools, polling places, and government buildings.
Law’s Passage
House Bill 4885 was passed by a majority in the state House with a 124-33 vote that saw some Democrats side with Republicans in opposition.
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It then went to the state Senate, where it passed handily with a 35-5 vote.
Changing Definitions
This new law institutes numerous changes to firearms in the state in an attempt to “modernize firearm laws.” Among these is a change to the definition of “assault-style firearms” which gun rights advocates worry could now include many semi-automatic weapons.
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If this new interpretation of “assault-style firearms” is applied strictly, it could essentially make many semi-automatic guns illegal in the state.
Ghost Guns
Another major change in the law had to do with combatting “ghost guns,” which is another name for unregistered guns that are difficult for law enforcement to track, sometimes produced by a technology known as 3-D printing.
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The law will “Equip law enforcement with tools to target producers of unregistered, un-serialized ghost guns.”
Governor’s Statement
Healey in a statement released July 25 extolled the virtues of the legislation in cracking down on ghost guns.
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“The bill signed today modernizes Massachusetts’ existing firearms laws to address issues such as untraceable “ghost guns” and 3-D printed guns, enhance the “Red Flag Law,” further protect safety in public spaces and increase violence prevention programming in the state,” the governor’s office statement said.
Misguided Supreme Court
Governor Healey in her statement called the US Supreme Court misguided for a recent decision guaranteeing Americans the right to carry a pistol in public and sees the new law as necessary to keep up with the modern era of evolving technology.
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“This legislation updates our firearms laws in response to the Supreme Court’s misguided Bruen decision,” said Governor Healey. “It cracks down on ghost guns and 3-D printed weapons, which I have long advocated for, enhances our ability to prevent guns from falling into dangerous hands, and invests in our communities to address the root causes of violence. This law will save lives, and I’m grateful to the Legislature and gun safety advocates for their hard work to see this through.”
Making Communities Safer
Kim Driscoll, Massachusett’s Lieutenant Governor, asserted that this latest gun restriction law is crucial to the continued fight against gun crime.
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“Gun technology and trends are constantly evolving, and it’s important that our laws evolve along with them,” said Driscoll. “This law will make our communities safer by preventing violence in the first place and improving law enforcement’s ability to respond to gun crimes.”
NRA Challenge
In the wake of the law being signed, the NRA came out with a statement announcing their intent to fight against the new restrictions.
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“With Governor Healey’s signature, Massachusetts has enacted one of the most egregious and freedom-restricting laws in the history of the Commonwealth. We are thankful for the bipartisan group of legislators who stood against gun registries and the banning of commonly owned firearms and standard magazines,” said the organization. “NRA will be challenging this law to restore the rights guaranteed to Bay Staters by the U.S. Constitution.”
Opposition to the Law
The NRA outlined its opposition to the new law, which the group deemed as excessively extreme and radical.
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“On Thursday, July 25th, Governor Maura Healey (D) signed one of the most extreme gun control bills in the country, H. 4885, ‘an act modernizing firearm laws,’ into law,” said the NRA statement. “The 116-page radical gun control package implements sweeping gun bans, magazine restrictions, mandatory registration of all firearms, extreme training requirements, and more.”
Worst 2A State
Users online reacting to House Bill 4885 passing worried about the future of gun rights in Massachusetts.
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“Pre ban AR-15 pistol, an ounce of freedom we still have in communist Massachusetts. H.4885 will make MA the worst 2A state in the country. Guns that are legally owned before the bill will be grandfathered in. But FID holders under the age of 21 will have to surrender semi autos,” said an X user.
Hope for Action
Opponents of the new law are hopeful that it will eventually be found unconstitutional through a court challenge given the strength of the US Constitution’s Second Amendment and the current composition of the United States Supreme Court.
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“I stand with the people of Massachusetts for their petitioning and actions against HR. 4885, which restricts their 2nd Amendment Rights. Hopefully, this is rightfully found unconstitutional and stricken down or repealed by the next governor,” said X user Benjamin Whitten.