The bill would impose ‘widespread bans on commonly owned firearms,’ according to gun rights advocates.
Massachusetts House lawmakers approved a measure on Oct. 18 that would tighten the state’s firearm laws and crack down on unregistered “ghost guns,” which gun rights advocates claim is “the worst anti-gun legislation in the country.”
The bill, H. 4135, was passed by the Massachusetts House on a 120–38 vote. It would mandate that key gun components be serialized and registered with the state, it proposes an enhanced system to curtail the flow of illegal guns into the state, and it seeks to modernize the existing firearm registration system. It would also expand the state’s ban on assault weapons by prohibiting the purchase of AR-15-style weapons and would ban the conversion of a legal firearm into an illegal automatic weapon.
The proposed regulation would outlaw possession of firearms while intoxicated and prohibit firing guns near homes. It would ban carrying firearms in polling places, schools, and government buildings. It also provides for expanding the state’s “red flag” laws, which allow judges to suspend gun licenses of people deemed to be at risk of harming themselves or others.
The passage of H. 4135 has been severely criticized by gun rights advocates. In an Oct. 18 statement, the National Rifle Association of America-Institute for Legislative Action (NRA-ILA) denounced lawmakers, asking supporters to contact their state senators and “voice their opposition” to the bill.
“H. 4135 re-writes gun laws in the Commonwealth and imposes unprecedented gun control. This is an ominous bill that includes the worst anti-gun legislation in the country,” it stated.
NRA-ILA warned that the bill imposes “widespread bans on commonly owned firearms,” eliminates due process through expanded “red flag” laws, expands gun registry programs, and places an “extreme financial burden” on gun owners.
Massachusetts Rep. Ronald Mariano (D-Quincy) claimed that the legislation was conceived because of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision expanding Second Amendment rights last year, according to The Hill.
In a 6–3 decision in June 2022, the Supreme Court struck down a state law in New York that made it hard to secure a permit to carry a handgun outside the home.
