Massachusetts Gun Laws Tighten—But at What Cost?

Massachusetts already ranks among the many most restrictive states on the subject of gun legal guidelines, however for some, it’s nonetheless not sufficient.

On March 26, gun management activists from Mothers Demand Motion and College students Demand Motion gathered in Boston for an Advocacy Day occasion. They marched from the Cathedral Church of St. Paul to the State Home, demanding lawmakers crack down even more durable—this time on the firearms business itself.

Amongst them was Lorna Heron, whose son was murdered by a person utilizing a firearm not legally owned or possessed within the state. “He was shot 15 occasions by that semiautomatic weapon,” she mentioned. “I additionally discovered that the final blow was by a gun… transported right here to our stunning Massachusetts gun regulation state by somebody that didn’t have the correct to personal a gun right here.”

Her story, although tragic, highlights a recurring theme in gun management narratives: blaming authorized gun homeowners and the business for the actions of criminals who already ignore the regulation.

The activists are backing laws from State Sen. Cynthia Creem (D-Newton) geared toward holding gun producers and sellers “accountable” for crimes dedicated with their merchandise—echoing a broader nationwide push to sidestep federal protections underneath the Safety of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act.

State Rep. Michael Day (D-Stoneham), who chairs the Judiciary Committee and authored the sweeping 2024 gun management invoice, spoke on the occasion. The regulation he championed features a ban on so-called “ghost weapons,” mandates live-fire coaching for gun license candidates, permits healthcare professionals to provoke crimson flag orders, and imposes further restrictions on public carry.

Day positioned the regulation as essential to “defend” not solely youngsters and lecturers but in addition “gun homeowners themselves.” He additionally took goal on the NRA and gun rights teams working to repeal the laws through a 2026 poll initiative. “If they will knock it out in Massachusetts, they will run the nation,” he warned. “We’re gonna say no in Massachusetts.”

However not everybody’s shopping for the “frequent sense” gun security spin.

Jim Wallace, Government Director of the Gun Homeowners’ Motion League (GOAL), mentioned the so-called inclusive listening tour that preceded the invoice was little greater than political theater.

“We tried in useless to work with them and so they simply lied to us all the time about what this invoice was gonna be about,” Wallace mentioned in a telephone interview. “The truth that they supposedly included individuals and had a listening tour was nothing however a sham.”

In response to Wallace, early talks had consensus round regulating ghost weapons and supporting live-fire coaching. However when the laws was drafted and pushed by—largely behind closed doorways—it went far past that scope, concentrating on lawful gun homeowners with sweeping new restrictions.

GOAL and different rights teams are actually specializing in efforts to repeal the regulation in 2026, whereas gun management advocates proceed pushing to carry the gun business “accountable”—regardless of repeated failures in courtroom to just do that.

Whereas activists march and lawmakers grandstand, the truth stays: criminals nonetheless don’t comply with the regulation, and lawful gun homeowners are as soon as once more left paying the value for crimes they didn’t commit.