The National Rifle Association (NRA) have promised to challenge Massachusetts gun law reforms which may have the effect of banning some common firearms.
The new regulations, signed into law by state governor Maura Healey, contain a number of regulations, but one in particular was identified as having the potential to lead to indirect weapon bans.
Massachusetts Latest Gun Reforms
The law contains expansions of existing gun restrictions, and included a number of regulations intended to improve public safety.
Provisions were included to combat untraceable ‘ghost’ guns and to expand the ‘red flag’ laws, which are meant to keep guns out of the hands of those deemed dangerous by a list of defined professionals.
Lack of Bipartisan Support
The law had no Republican political support whatsoever, without a single Republican representative voting in favor of the bill.
Despite this, the vote was overwhelmingly passed with 124 votes to 33 in the House and 35 to 5 in the Senate.
Law a Modern Adaptation
The law is also meant to evolve the existing regulatory landscape with modern advancements in technology.
‘Ghost’ gun regulations are hoped to be able to help combat difficult-to-trace 3D-printed firearms, only possible now with the advances in 3D-printing technology.
NRA Challenge
The NRA have promised to challenge laws which they see as infringing on long-held US rights.
The NRA released a statement regarding the new regulations, in which they said they “will be challenging this law to restore the rights guaranteed to Bay Staters by the U.S. Constitution.”
Eye For Detail
The NRA’s challenge centers around a less-publicized aspect of the bill, which they and other gun owners have picked up on in their analyses of the regulations.
They are concerned with the bill’s definition of “assault-style firearms”, which lays out what features a semi-automatic can have that defines it as “assault-style”.
Affects Common Firearms
The “assault-style” definition may affect some common guns as it includes some features that may be fairly ubiquitous and often largely cosmetic in semi-automatic weapons.
A subsidiary of the NRA, the Gun Owners Action League, claimed that the definition covers “most, if not all, semi-automatic rifles and shotguns.”
Restriction of Freedom
The NRA, targeting Governor Healey explicitly, have criticized the reforms in strong terms as a restriction of US citizens’ freedoms and rights.
They say: “With Governor Healey’s signature, Massachusetts has enacted one of the most egregious and freedom-restricting laws in the history of the Commonwealth.”
Parts of the Bill Had Cross-Party Support
Some aspects of the bill, such as those covering “intoxicated firearm carry,” were praised by both sides as necessary updates to gun regulation.
Representative Joseph McKenna, an opponent of the bill, described some parts of the bill as “not objectionable to anyone”.
Solid Bill
The Democrats who drafted the bill remain confident that it will stand up to constitutional challenges.
They say that it was drafted in such a way that it does not infringe on the rights outlined by the US Constitution.
