BOSTON, MA - On October 18th, House Bill 4135 passed the state's House with a 120-38 vote.
The sweeping gun bill aims at "tightening firearm laws, cracking down on unregistered 'ghost guns' and strengthening the state's assault-style weapons ban."
According to reports, the bill would also prohibit individuals from carrying a gun into a person's home without their permission and require key gun compondents to be serialized and registered with the state.
Additionally, the bill would also outlaw having a gun while intoxicated and ban firing guns near homes. It will prohibit guns from polling places, schools and all government buildings.
The bill expands the state's current ban on assault weapons by prohibiting new purchases of AR-15-style weapons. It also bans someone from turning a legal firearm into an illegal automatic weapon.
The bill, which is 125 pages long, is a priority for Democractic Massachusetts House Speaker Ronald Mariano. It is in part, a response to a 2022 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that U.S. citizens have a right to carry firearms in public for the purpose of self-defense.
The proposed bill includes an enhanced system to track firearms used in crimes to help "curb the flow of illegal firearms into the state." Lawmakers said that the bill will also modernize the existing firearm registratin system while increasing the availability of firearm data for "academic and policy use."
The bill will expand on the state's "red flag" laws, which allow a judge to remove someone's right to own a firearm if they believe the individual is a risk to themselves or others.
The National Rifle Association of America (NRA) Institute for Legislative Action strongly opposes the bill and has urged supporters to contact their state senators to express their thoughts on the bill.
In a statement to the Epoch Times, the NRA said, "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."
Gun owners opposed the bill, stating that the measures proposed and outlined in the legislation do more to target gun owners than they do to reduce crime.
Jim Wallace, executive director of the Gun Owners' Action League, said in a statement, "All of it goes against us, the lawful people. There's nothing in there that goes after the criminals."
He also said that the bill is an "overreaction" to the 2022 U.S. Supreme Court decision. He said, "This is a tantrum. This is flat-out tantrum."
Jennifer Robinson of the Massachusetts chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, said that the bill contains what she calls "commonsense steps."
She said, "We believe that if you're going to have a license for a gun, you should have live fire training, much like if you're going to drive a car, we don't just throw the keys at you and walk away."
Massachusetts already has tough gun laws and had the lowest rate of gun deaths in the country, with 3.4 deaths per 100,000 people in 2021. In comparison, Mississippi had the highest rate, at 33.9 deaths per 100,000 people.
The state Senate has yet to release its version of the gun bill. It will then be up to both Democratic-led chambers to put together a single bill that would then be sent to Governor Maura Healey's (D) desk for signature before it becomes law.
The sweeping gun bill aims at "tightening firearm laws, cracking down on unregistered 'ghost guns' and strengthening the state's assault-style weapons ban."
According to reports, the bill would also prohibit individuals from carrying a gun into a person's home without their permission and require key gun compondents to be serialized and registered with the state.
Additionally, the bill would also outlaw having a gun while intoxicated and ban firing guns near homes. It will prohibit guns from polling places, schools and all government buildings.
The bill expands the state's current ban on assault weapons by prohibiting new purchases of AR-15-style weapons. It also bans someone from turning a legal firearm into an illegal automatic weapon.
The bill, which is 125 pages long, is a priority for Democractic Massachusetts House Speaker Ronald Mariano. It is in part, a response to a 2022 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that U.S. citizens have a right to carry firearms in public for the purpose of self-defense.
The proposed bill includes an enhanced system to track firearms used in crimes to help "curb the flow of illegal firearms into the state." Lawmakers said that the bill will also modernize the existing firearm registratin system while increasing the availability of firearm data for "academic and policy use."
The bill will expand on the state's "red flag" laws, which allow a judge to remove someone's right to own a firearm if they believe the individual is a risk to themselves or others.
The National Rifle Association of America (NRA) Institute for Legislative Action strongly opposes the bill and has urged supporters to contact their state senators to express their thoughts on the bill.
In a statement to the Epoch Times, the NRA said, "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."
Gun owners opposed the bill, stating that the measures proposed and outlined in the legislation do more to target gun owners than they do to reduce crime.
Jim Wallace, executive director of the Gun Owners' Action League, said in a statement, "All of it goes against us, the lawful people. There's nothing in there that goes after the criminals."
He also said that the bill is an "overreaction" to the 2022 U.S. Supreme Court decision. He said, "This is a tantrum. This is flat-out tantrum."
Jennifer Robinson of the Massachusetts chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, said that the bill contains what she calls "commonsense steps."
She said, "We believe that if you're going to have a license for a gun, you should have live fire training, much like if you're going to drive a car, we don't just throw the keys at you and walk away."
Massachusetts already has tough gun laws and had the lowest rate of gun deaths in the country, with 3.4 deaths per 100,000 people in 2021. In comparison, Mississippi had the highest rate, at 33.9 deaths per 100,000 people.
The state Senate has yet to release its version of the gun bill. It will then be up to both Democratic-led chambers to put together a single bill that would then be sent to Governor Maura Healey's (D) desk for signature before it becomes law.
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The opinions reflected in this article are not necessarily the opinions of LET
Comments
2023-10-23T12:28-0400 | Comment by: Todd
Criminals want more gun restrictions to help protect themselves from their victims !