No sooner had Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey signed a sweeping new firearms bill into law last month than gun rights activists filed a lawsuit challenging it, calling the measure an "historic attack on our civil rights."
Activists are also hoping to place a question on the 2026 ballot to repeal the law, which expands the state's already tough gun restrictions. It was enacted in part as a response to the Supreme Court's 2022 Bruen decision declaring citizens have a right to carry firearms in public for self-defense.
The Massachusetts measure cracks down on privately made, unserialized "ghost guns," criminalizes possessing bump stocks and trigger cranks, requires applicants for a gun license to complete live-fire training, updates the state's tests for what makes a firearm an assault-style weapon and requires an advisory board to provide a ongoing list of prohibited weapons.
The measure also expands the state's "red flag" law to let police as well as health care and school officials alert the courts if they believe someone with access to guns is a danger and should have their firearms taken away, at least temporarily.
People looking to suspend the law from taking effect until a potential 2026 referendum on it will need to file at least 49,716 signatures from registered voters, which will also help guarantee the question is placed on the ballot. Healey could block any temporary suspension of the law by pushing for an "emergency preamble" putting it into effect immediately.
