A couple of years ago, I got a call from Jim Wallace from the Gun Owners Action League (GOAL). He sent a couple of the GOAL staff to the Gun Rights Policy Conference. He asked if I would introduce them to folks. Not a problem. One of the staff was Mike Harris. He’s a great guy with a lot of personality and good stories, and he’s worked on Beacon Hill. Mike also joined me with the Women for Gun Rights episode, RSWC #180, last fall.
There have been many bad things happening in Massachusetts for gun owners. It started with the Gun Law Listening Tour, which was hosted by State Representative Michael Day from January 2023 to June 2023. Day said he didn’t know what the new bill was going to look like. At some point, Day met with Gabby Giffords, who is wildly anti-gun. The bill was dropped just days after the end of the GLLT. The MA gun laws were overhauled, but not in a positive way.
The bill was shut down by the Bay State gun owners, who called and wrote their representatives and senators. But Representative Day was determined to get the bill through the House. It passed in October 2023. In early 2024, the MA Senate needed to write their version which was bad, but not as extreme. It was still littered with infringements. It ended up passing the MA Senate and then headed to a special Conference Committee of only six people.
They dropped the Bill on July 17, 2024. It was 116 pages of new restrictions on the subjects of the Commonwealth. Things like new definitions for firearms, including calling a rifle handguard a “barrel shroud,” more confusing dates for so-called assault weapon bans, adding rifles and shotguns to the approved weapons roster, and limiting possession of any semi-automatic rifle or shotgun to anyone under 21 years old. The bill was signed by Governor Maura Healey (D) on July 25, 2024. It’s been a mess since then. There was confusion on the start date of the law from August 1 to August 2 to October 23.
Mike called me and asked if I would sign a form to call for a referendum on the law as a registered voter. And if we could film a show driving into Boston to drop the form off. We were met near the State House by Garet Holcomb, President of GOAL, Toby Leary, owner of Cape Gun Works and host of Rapid Fire Radio, and Jessica Kedziora. There were enough correctly certified signatures for the referendum to go to the Attorney General. The next steps include waiting for the AG to write the question and get it approved. Once completed and approved, there will be signature sheets that can be distributed and signed in all the counties and towns across Massachusetts. There needs to be 50,000 signatures of registered voters to get this on the ballot.
This is the worst post-Bruen temper tantrum by any state since 2022. It will make it more difficult to get an FID/LTC in Massachusetts. It makes the training requirement more stringent and difficult. It’s going to put a burden on the local police to do more for the law-abiding, background-check-passing citizens. There are things like gun registration, which is a problem. However, they did not lay out how this is going to be funded or where the information is going to be held. Not that I want them to have the registration at all! The new curriculum for approved courses hasn’t been developed so the state police are allowed to accept the current courses until October 23, 2024. It is bad. It is all bad.
Favorite quotes:
- “We’re never the aggressor; we’re the ones reacting to things.”
- “They basically cut off half the legislative process by holding an unusual hearing.”
- “It was a gigantic burdensome, self-referential piece of gun control wishlist nonsense.”
- “If we gather enough signatures from across all 14 counties, we will be able to repeal the bill.”
About Riding Shotgun With Charlie
Riding Shotgun With Charlie isn’t about firearms. It is about having an intimate conversation with 2 people talking. You’re the fly on the rearview mirror. Many of the passengers are involved in the firearm community.
This is a more intimate conversation than a phone, radio, or Skype interview. You get to see the passengers. And you’ll see where the road and the conversation take you!
