Massachusetts voters will decide in November whether to uphold recent legislation that tightens the state's already stringent gun laws. Passed earlier this year by the state legislature, the new law includes several measures aimed at enhancing public safety, most notably banning the possession and manufacture of untraceable firearms, commonly known as “ghost guns.”
The legislation, which spans roughly 40 pages in the official voter guide, mandates that all firearms bear serial numbers and grants judges the authority to order individuals subject to restraining orders to surrender their guns. It broadens the scope of who can request an Extreme Risk Protection order—a tool that permits courts to temporarily remove firearms from individuals deemed a danger to themselves or others—adding healthcare providers and school officials to the list of petitioners alongside family members and law enforcement.
Additional provisions raise the minimum age for purchasing semiautomatic rifles and shotguns from 18 to 21, ban certain gun modifications such as bump stocks and trigger cranks, prohibit carrying firearms in specific locations including schools, polling places, and government buildings, and introduce requirements for live-fire training to obtain a gun license. The law also allows minors to purchase pepper spray and establishes a statewide gun owner registry intended to enhance record-keeping and enforcement.
Advocates for the legislation, including Ruth Zakarin, CEO of the Massachusetts Coalition to Prevent Gun Violence, emphasize the need for modernized regulations that address evolving technology and emerging threats. She highlighted that since the law’s enactment, Boston police have recovered 153 ghost guns involved in criminal activity, underscoring concerns about firearms that evade traditional tracking methods.
Opponents, largely composed of gun rights advocates, argue that the expanded regulations infringe on constitutional rights. They successfully placed a referendum—Question 9—on the November ballot seeking to repeal the entire law. Toby Leary, chairman of the repeal campaign, expressed concerns about law-abiding citizens facing arrest over technical violations and called for legislative refinement on complex or difficult-to-implement provisions, such as accommodations for out-of-state hunters without Massachusetts gun licenses. He contended that legal challenges over the law’s constitutionality should be addressed through the courts rather than a public ballot.
Supporters of the law maintain that the existence of criminal disregard for gun restrictions does not negate the importance of having laws on the books to facilitate prosecution and prevent harm. They point to previous measures like the Extreme Risk Protection order law, enacted in 2018, which has been expanded under the new legislation to improve public safety.
Massachusetts has historically maintained lower firearm fatality rates compared to many other states, a trend experts attribute in part to its strict regulatory environment. While it remains too soon to assess the full impact of the latest law on gun-related deaths, authorities and advocates urge voters to preserve the strengthened gun control framework by voting yes on Question 9.