NRA challenging new Mass. gun law

BOSTON (SHNS) – The National Rifle Association says it plans to challenge the new firearms law that Gov. Maura Healey signed last week, adding its voice to the chorus of gun owners concerned that the law will essentially ban some common firearms, the organization said.

Healey signed the bill Thursday, approving new strategies for combating so-called ghost guns, expanding the law that allows a court to take guns away from someone considered a threat to themselves or others, and adding schools, polling places and government buildings to the list of areas where state law forbids people from carrying firearms.

“With Governor Healey’s signature, Massachusetts has enacted one of the most egregious and freedom-restricting laws in the history of the Commonwealth. We are thankful for the bipartisan group of legislators who stood against gun registries and the banning of commonly owned firearms and standard magazines,” the Second Amendment rights organization said last week. “NRA will be challenging this law to restore the rights guaranteed to Bay Staters by the U.S. Constitution.”

The final version of the firearms law passed the House on a 124-33 vote and cleared the Senate by a tally of 35-5. A handful of Democrats joined all Republicans in opposition: Sen. Marc Pacheco of Taunton, and Reps. Colleen Garry of Dracut, Patricia Haddad of Somerset, Kathy LaNatra of Kingston, David Robertson of Tewksbury, Alan Silvia of Fall River, Jeff Turco of Winthrop and Jonathan Zlotnik of Gardner. Independent Rep. Susannah Whipps of Athol also voted no.

The bill also changes how state law defines “assault-style firearms,” which has some gun owners worried that many modern semi-automatic rifles could be considered illegal under the new law.

The new law considers a gun an “assault-style firearm” if it is a semiautomatic shotgun, or any semiautomatic centerfire rifle or semiautomatic pistol with the ability to accept a detachable feeding device that features at least two of the following features: “a folding or telescopic stock, a thumbhole stock or pistol grip, a forward grip or second handgrip or protruding grip that can be held by the non-trigger hand, a threaded barrel designed to accommodate a flash suppressor or muzzle break or similar feature, or a shroud that encircles either all or part of the barrel designed to shield the bearer’s hand from heat, excluding a slide that encloses the barrel.”

That provision has attracted the attention of gun owners, some of whom said the features included as part of the “assault-style firearm” definition are common and often cosmetic in nature. The Gun Owners Action League, the local arm of the NRA, said in its summary of the law that the new definition “includes most, if not all, semi-automatic rifles and shotguns.”

Democrats who drafted the bill that Healey signed have said it will stand up to any constitutional challenges.

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