By Dave Workman
Editor-in-Chief
In a move allegedly designed to thwart a citizen effort to force suspension of a new gun control law in Massachusetts by way of petition, Gov,. Maura Healey signed an emergency order putting the new law into immediate effect.
According to the Associated Press, the law was approved in July, but Second Amendment activists launched a massive effort to collect more than 50,000 signatures from registered voters on a petition, which one source told TGM has likely occurred with a comfortable margin. The petition could have forced the new law to be placed on hold until it could be placed on a statewide ballot in 2026.
The new law “cracks down” on so-called “ghost guns,” the AP noted, and also outlaws possession of bump stocks, trigger cranking devices and requires live-fire training to apply for a gun license.
However, Healey’s signature came before any of the new training has been implemented, and the head of the State Police has apparently not issued a roster of guns which may be brought into the state for any purpose.
Jim Wallace, executive director of Massachusetts Gun Owners Action League (GOAL), told TGM the emergency enactment of the law has resulted in “chaos.”
“Massachusetts residents have no idea what to do,” Wallace said. “Nonresidents cannot bring any gun in.”
He said this applies to anyone who may have planned to visit the state for competition, hunting or other legitimate activities. It especially will be tough for hunters because they won’t be allowed to bring in any kind of semiautomatic shotgun, he said.
According to Boston.com, the new law “bolsters the state’s “red flag” laws, making sure that people who have had their firearms licenses revoked cannot obtain new licenses while an Extreme Risk Protective Order is in place against them.
“It also expands the pool of people and agencies that can seek such an order against people that could be a threat to themselves or others,” the story said. “The law expands the state’s definition of ‘assault weapons,’ while prohibiting the possession, transfer, or sale of ‘assault-style’ firearms. It criminalizes the possession of a gun in schools or polling places, as well.”
Wallace and GOAL posted the following message on the organization’s website:
“For at least the second time in her career, Governor Maura Healey is about to make hundreds of thousands of citizens into “felons in waiting”.
“On July 20, 2016, Maura Healey woke up and held a press conference that changed 18 years of settled law by reinterpreting a single word. That word was “copy”. In an instant, and with no warning, she turned endless thousands of the 2A community into felons in waiting. While she never prosecuted any License to Carry holders, much to the chagrin of the Boston Globe, the weight of a ten-year felony hung over innocent citizens.
“Eight years later, almost to the day, Healey signed H.4885 into law (Chapter 135 of the Acts of 2024). The final language of the bill was kept secret until the night before the legislature voted on it. Within a few days, Healey signed into law what would become the worst attack on civil rights in modern U.S. history.
“As a result of this historic assault on civil rights, an effort was undertaken to bring a repeal of the law before the citizens of the Commonwealth. If enough signatures were gathered, the entire law would have been suspended until a referendum was placed before the voters in November of 2026. Because it was clear that volunteers were well on their way to collect the tens of thousands of signatures necessary, the Governor pulled a very rare maneuver. The radical move was to attach an emergency order to the new law and thus circumventing its suspension, regardless of the will of the people.
“Ever since this tantrum against the Supreme Court decision Bruen started last year, the so-called ‘process’ has become even more putrid,” said Jim Wallace, Executive Director of GOAL. “At every turn, the legislature and now the Governor, have avoided honest public input, especially from the 2A community. We are the only stakeholders involved and there is a consistent effort to silence our voices and mislead the general public.”
“Knowing the history of Governor Healey, GOAL had already begun to draft a complaint to go before a Federal Court. We hope the court will take this up immediately, and place an injunction on any enforcement.”
GOAL has already filed at least one federal lawsuit challenging the licensing and training mandates. Wallace said it will take multiple legal actions, each challenging different sections of the law, to correct what he called an “insane” situation.
