The sweeping bill the governor just signed, which would tighten the state's already strict gun control laws, could face a direct democratic challenge at the ballot box.
Opponents of the law, which updated regulations governing the sale and carrying of firearms in the state, took the first step by filing a petition that would put the fate of the law in the hands of Massachusetts voters.
The updated law includes a number of measures, including regulating ghost guns, expanding the state's “red flag” laws and banning the carrying of firearms in polling places and schools.
The far-reaching bill will ban so-called ghost guns for the first time. It requires that components of all firearms, such as frames and housings, be provided with serial numbers.
Supporters of the recall bill must collect tens of thousands of signatures by early October to put a question on the 2026 ballot. This would allow voters to decide whether to keep the law or repeal it.
If they collect enough signatures, they could possibly have the law repealed temporarily.
The Gun Owners' Action League, a Massachusetts-based gun rights advocacy group, announced it would attempt to file a referendum just one day after Maura Healey officially signed the bill in late July.
Jim Wallace, the group's executive director, raised several concerns about the bill, including that it could make it harder for licensed gun dealers to operate and make it harder for residents to obtain new gun licenses.
“We will take every possible action to prevent this, because this is undoubtedly the worst attack on civil liberties in modern US history,” he said.
In addition to the vast majority of state lawmakers, numerous gun control advocates and statewide police groups supported the bill, including the Massachusetts police chief.
We are convinced that both the legislators and the referendum signatories have reviewed the constitutionality of their actions and are convinced that their positions are justified.
But regardless of the outcome of this legal battle, we are convinced that even the most staunch gun rights advocates will want to keep the questionable additions contained in this bill.
The new law expands on 2018's Extreme Risk Protection Orders – commonly known as “red flag” laws – and allows school administrators and licensed health care providers to petition the courts to temporarily remove firearms from people deemed to be a threat to themselves or others.
Healey's office said the law makes it clear that a person whose gun license has been revoked under the Red Flag law cannot obtain a new gun license or identification card as long as the Extreme Risk Protection Order remains in effect.
These additions further tighten an already strict law.
Previously, only a family or household member or the police department of the city or municipality in which the respondent lived could submit an application.
An extreme risk protection order may be issued against someone who has a permit to own or carry a weapon and who poses a risk of physical harm to themselves or others by having, possessing, or carrying a firearm, rifle, shotgun, machine gun, stun gun, or ammunition.
This person, the so-called defendant, has the right to appoint a lawyer to represent him or her in the ERPO court proceedings.
The person submitting the ERPO (the so-called applicant) also has the right to appoint a lawyer to represent him or her in the court proceedings.
Having as many people as possible in a personal, professional or clinical relationship with a mentally vulnerable person provides an additional shield against a firearm tragedy.
We believe that most Mainers wish the state had had warning laws in place before last October's mass shooting in Lewiston that left 18 people dead.
Robert Card, the 40-year-old mass murderer who unleashed a brief reign of terror in the Maine community on Oct. 25, showed all the signs of a person struggling with mental health issues.
The discovery of Card's body a few days later in nearby Lisbon ended a massive manhunt. Hundreds of police officers from across the country combed the communities surrounding Lewiston, a search that kept the towns and villages in the immediate area on tenterhooks.
In the weeks before the rampage, police across Maine had become aware of “veiled threats” from Card, a U.S. Army reservist, the Associated Press reported. A statewide alert to be on the lookout for Card was sent out in mid-September after the firearms instructor made threats against his base and fellow soldiers, the AP reported.
But after increased patrols at the base and a visit to Card's house – during which he was never seen – the authorities moved on.
It is unclear what exactly prompted Card to kill 18 people and injure 13 others that night at Just-In-Time Recreation and Schemengees Bar and Grille Restaurant.
But for Michael Sauschuck, commissioner of the Maine Department of Public Safety, there was also a “psychological aspect” and “paranoia” to the shootings.
Even gun advocates say more attention should be paid to mental health in response to these tragic events.
So let’s keep the stricter red flag laws.
