Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey has signed a comprehensive gun bill into law, which aims to strengthen existing gun laws in the state while ensuring the rights of gun owners are protected. The law includes measures to crack down on “ghost guns,” which are unserialized firearms that are difficult to trace. The U.S. Department of Justice reported recovering thousands of ghost guns in domestic seizures in 2022.
The new law also expands the state’s extreme risk protective order law, allowing health care professionals and others to petition a court to suspend a person’s right to possess or carry a gun in order to protect themselves and others. It prohibits the possession of firearms in certain locations such as schools, polling locations, and government buildings, and imposes penalties for possession of modification devices that can convert legal firearms into fully automatic weapons.
Governor Healey stated that the legislation updates firearms laws in response to a U.S. Supreme Court decision and aims to prevent guns from falling into dangerous hands. The law also requires firearm license applicants to demonstrate a basic understanding of safety principles and provides relevant mental health information to licensing authorities.
The law expands the definition of “assault weapons” and prohibits possession, transfer, or sale of certain firearms and large-capacity feeding devices. It criminalizes the possession of parts intended to make weapons more lethal. Gun rights advocates had criticized the legislative process, but the law was ultimately passed with these measures in place.
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