Weekly Spotlight 7/28/23 – 8/3/23
Massachusetts gun control bill is one of the most radical yet
At the USCCA-FSL, we’re constantly monitoring proposals and legislation across the country that could impact gun owners, especially those that could hamper their ability to exercise their Second Amendment right and protect themselves. We’ve covered the “assault weapons” ban in Illinois, a New Jersey law that greatly restricted where law-abiding gun owners could carry concealed, and many others. The latest state legislation we’re tracking is perhaps the worst one yet.
As reported by Fox News, lawmakers in Massachusetts – a state that already has extraordinarily strict gun laws – are proposing a new law that contains a litany of misguided and onerous gun control policies. According to the report, “An Act of Modernizing Firearms Laws, introduced last month, will require mandatory registration of all firearms and feeding devices, ban people under 21 from purchasing or carrying semi-automatic shotguns and rifles and prohibit firearm carrying on private property unless there is expressed permission.”
The proposal not only seems unconstitutional on its face, but also entirely unrealistic. How in the world would authorities go about registering the millions of magazines and feeding devices already owned in the state? And do they think criminals will ask permission from homeowners before bringing a gun into a home to burglarize it?
It gets even more absurd. The legislation would also ban “human silhouette targets” at gun ranges, prohibit people under 18 from possessing pepper spray, legally define stun guns the same way as firearms, and expand already broad and overreaching red flag laws. The bill, which purports to “modernize” gun laws, is effectively an end-run around the Constitution that will turn countless law-abiding citizens into criminals. Furthermore, it will disincentivize responsible people from navigating the onerous and confusing red tape to obtain a concealed carry permit.
One gun range owner and firearms instructor from the Boston area recently spoke out against the bill, saying “The act of modernizing firearms is not modernizing anything. It’s just complicating everything,” said Tom Cheffro, owner of Boston Firearms. “What the gun owners in this state need to know is that if this law passes, we are all in jeopardy of becoming criminals,” he concluded.
While the bill’s progress in the Massachusetts legislature has stalled, it will more likely than not come up for a vote later this year and we expect it to pass. If you live in the Bay State, it’s vital that you contact your lawmakers to let them know you oppose this bill. The USCCA-FSL will continue to monitor this dangerous legislation and keep law-abiding Americans apprised of threats to their constitutional rights.
Join the USCCA-FSL in standing against more gun control!
OTHER NEWS YOU MAY HAVE MISSED
A suspected burglar’s attempts to allegedly steal from an elderly couple’s Florida home was thwarted when the homeowner turned the tables on him with a firearm. Neptune Beach Police said that on July 19, they responded to an in-progress occupied residential burglary and discovered suspect Antonio Grant, 42, had broken into the property through the home’s backdoor. The homeowner, however, took him by surprise when he produced a firearm and held the suspect at gunpoint until police arrived. “What Grant did not foresee is that the homeowner had armed himself with his firearm and held him at gunpoint until our officers quickly responded and placed him under arrest,” Neptune Beach Police said in a Facebook post.
Truth About Guns: Pushback From Gun Rights Orgs Causes San Francisco to Table Proposed Bruen Response Law
The San Francisco County Board of Supervisors has backed down on a proposed ordinance that would make much of the city into a “gun-free zone” after the Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) and California Rifle & Pistol Association (CRPA) promised legal action. San Francisco has long been the California city most opposed to the right to keep and bear arms. In 2003 the city tried to ban handguns entirely. They tried again a few years later. Both attempts were only stopped by lawsuits brought by the SAF, CRPA, and NRA.
- The Reload: Michigan Court Upholds Campus Carry Ban
Banning civilian gun possession on all university property does not violate the Second Amendment, a state appeals court has ruled. The Michigan Court of Appeals ruled on Friday that Article X, the University of Michigan’s policy of banning guns on all university property, is legally permissible. It determined that the entire campus qualified as a sensitive place. “We conclude that the University is a school, and thus, a sensitive place,” Appellate Judges Mary Cavanagh and Deborah Servitto wrote on behalf of the court. “Therefore, Article X is constitutionally permissible because laws forbidding the carrying of firearms in sensitive places are consistent with the Second Amendment.”
- WREX (Illinois): State Representative Hosted Free FOID/CCL Assistance Clinic
State Representative Dave Vella and his district office staff hosted a clinic to help residents with their applications for Firearms Owners Identification (FOID) and Concealed Carry License (CCL). “We just want to let people know that ‘hey we’re here to help with issues’ people might not know that there is a resource like this to help them with issues such as applications” states Nathan Blevins the Head of Constituent Services for the 68th District. Back in 2015 Illinois State Police made it easier to get a FOID card by making the application completely online. Unfortunately, that process can be confusing Representative Vella has had many constituents reach out for help with.
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