Massachusetts Governor Healey signs gun law, says it “will save lives”; here is what’s in it

Colin A. Young

BOSTON – Two years after a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that she said posed “a grave danger to Americans as they go about their daily lives in public spaces,” Gov. Maura Healey on Thursday signed an overhaul of state firearms laws that lawmakers said will keep Massachusetts at the forefront of gun safety laws.

The bill (H 4885) passed the House and Senate last week after months of closed-door talks between the branches. A handful of Democrats joined all Republicans in opposition to the final version of the bill. Healey signed the bill in full, approving new strategies for combating so-called ghost guns, expanding the law that allows a court to take guns away from someone considered a threat to themselves or others, and adding schools, polling places and government buildings to the list of areas where state law forbids people from carrying firearms.

“Massachusetts is proud of our strong gun laws, but there is always more work to be done to keep our communities safe from violence. This legislation updates our firearms laws in response to the Supreme Court’s misguided Bruen decision,” Healey said in a statement. “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.”

Healey, who had not offered her own firearms bill and signed one drafted by the Legislature, plans to hold a ceremonial bill-signing event next week.  It will be a chance for lawmakers and activists who have been working towards this new law for two-plus years to mark their progress and highlight a law that figures to be among the top handful of achievements of Healey’s first legislative session as governor.

Hoping to slow the proliferation of ghost guns — many of which are assembled at home by people not licensed to carry firearms, officials have said — the legislation requires all firearms, including individual frames and receivers, to be stamped with a serial number. It also includes new penalties for possession, creation and transfer of untraceable guns.

“Untraceable firearms like ghost guns and 3-D printed weapons pose a tremendous risk to public safety, and our laws must evolve to stop the proliferation of these dangerous weapons,” Public Safety and Security Secretary Terrence Reidy said. “This new legislation strengthens our ability to combat gun violence, hold violent offenders accountable, and enhance community safety. The law also advances Massachusetts’ position as a national leader in strong and effective gun laws.”

The new law also expands the 2018 “red flag” law to allow 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. Healey’s office said the law clarifies that a person who has had their firearm license revoked under the “red flag” law cannot obtain any new firearm licenses or identification cards while the extreme risk protection order is still in place.

Other parts of the bill would consolidate the licensing process, more tightly regulate modifications and parts that can convert semi-automatic firearms into automatic firearms, boost data reporting about firearms, and align standards for carrying a firearm or hunting while intoxicated with driving under the influence.

The bill also creates a new criminal offense for firing a gun and striking an occupied building or dwelling, and strengthens existing penalties for firing within 500 feet of a dwelling without the owner’s consent.

Under existing law, Bay Staters can acquire a firearms license at 18 years old, which allows them to purchase semi-automatic rifles. The bill would require a license to carry — which is only available to people 21 and older — to buy a semi-automatic rifle.

Michael Bradley, Jr., the outgoing chief of police in Upton and executive director of the Massachusetts Chiefs of Police Association, said his organization voted to support the law that Healey signed Friday.

“We extend our appreciation to Speaker Mariano, Senate President Spilka, and Governor Healey for their continued efforts to work with our Association toward a compromise on gun reform and their shared focus on enhancing safety in the Commonwealth,” Bradley said. “We are committed to working closely with the Administration to address any challenges that may arise to ensure that the law’s provisions are effectively put into practice.”

The law updates the state’s assault weapons ban to expand the definition of “assault weapons” to newly include known assault weapons and other weapons “that function like them with respect to certain features,” the governor’s office said. It prohibits possession, transfer, or sale of “assault-style” firearms and large-capacity feeding devices.

Everyone other than firearm instructors and bona fide collectors will be prohibited under the new law from obtaining a license to carry a machine gun, and the new law also makes criminal the possession of gun parts intended to make weapons more lethal by including those parts — including automatic parts, bump stocks, rapid-fire trigger activators, and trigger modifiers — under the state’s machine gun law, Healey’s office said.

“There is no one size fits all solution to the gun violence crisis that plagues our nation, and we appreciate the comprehensive, multifaceted approach that this bill takes towards ending this epidemic,” Ruth Zakarin, CEO of the MA Coalition to Prevent Gun Violence, said. “We are deeply grateful to House and Senate leadership for their nearly two years of hard work on this important bill, and to Governor Healey for signing this lifesaving bill into law today.”

John Rosenthal, founder of Stop Handgun Violence, said the new law “will effectively close dangerous loopholes in existing law, save countless lives and endless grief from preventable gun violence and do so without any inconvenience to law abiding gun owners and sportspeople like me.”

Gun owners groups have been actively resisting the legislation as it moved through the process in the House and Senate over the last year, criticizing the bills as an infringement on Second Amendment rights and a solution in search of a problem.

“It’s simply a tantrum because of the Supreme Court case in Bruen,” Jim Wallace, executive director of the Gun Owners Action League, told the News Service in an interview last week when the compromise bill was unveiled. “The powers that be that support this garbage basically couldn’t handle being told they’re wrong and went on a fit, and that’s what this represents.”