By Bob Katzen
Gov. Healey attached an emergency preamble to the bill, recently signed by the governor, that changed some of the state’s gun laws. The emergency preamble makes the law take effect immediately instead of on Oct. 23 as originally scheduled. The move came on the heels of the announcement of a campaign to repeal the law by gathering the 37,287 signatures required to place it on the 2026 ballot.
Under the Massachusetts Constitution, if a ballot campaign collects a certain number of signatures, it can prevent the implementation of a law without an emergency preamble from taking effect until voters weigh in on whether to repeal it. The emergency preamble prevents suspension while still allowing the repeal campaign to take place.
A group of gun owners and Second Amendment supporters formed the Civil Rights Coalition to repeal the law. The group said they are “very confident” about gathering enough voter signatures before an Oct. 9 deadline that marks the next hurdle en route to giving voters the final say on the matter.
“It’s like telling Subaru they can no longer sell a Subaru Forester, the best-selling vehicle in their lineup,” said Toby Leary, a co-owner of Cape Gun Works in Hyannis and chair of the repeal coalition. “That’s basically what the state is doing to these businesses: they’re saying you can no longer sell one of the largest and most profitable segments of your business.”
“Gov. Healey is once again putting our safety first by taking meaningful steps to protect our communities from gun violence,” said Olivia Benevento, a volunteer leader with the Northeastern University Students Demand Action Chapter. “For decades, the gun lobby has gotten richer while my generation continues to pay the price.”
Provisions of the new law include cracking down on untraceable “ghost guns;” banning firearms in additional public spaces like schools, polling places and government buildings; expanding the 2018 “red flag” law that allows school administrators and licensed health care providers to petition a court to temporarily take firearms away from someone deemed a threat to themselves or others; closing loopholes that allow the modification of legal firearms into illegal automatic weapons; and providing a legacy clause so all firearms legally owned and registered in Massachusetts as of the effective date of the bill will continue to be legal and may be bought and sold within the state.