Governor Healey’s new gun law faces backlash

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) – Governor Maura Healey’s bill is receiving increasing backlash from gun owners, including a new lawsuit filed in federal court just days ago.

Governor Healey decided to immediately implement the new gun law, but a Bellingham gun shop owner has already filed a complaint. The owner alleges that parts of the new law, which updates the definition of assault-style weapons, contradict the Second Amendment protections and civil freedoms.

The complaint stated that certain assault-style weapons are allowed under federal law after Congress let a ban expire in 2004. They believe that this new law would violate equal protection, interstate commerce, and firearms rights in the Constitution. The shop owner says 70 percent of his business will be lost under the new limitations.

The gun law passed in July focuses on cracking down on ghost guns, firearms in public places, and the “Red Flag Law.” The law was expanded to let police, healthcare workers, and school officials remove firearms from someone deemed a threat to themselves or others.

Also written in the law was the requirement for state residents to obtain a “Firearms Safety Certificate” which includes live-fire training. The lawsuit stated the new requirements were impossible to meet as no training courses exist right now.

Around six weeks after the lawsuit was filed, the State House and Senate democrats postponed the implementation of the training course certificate. The certificate was delayed until 18 months after the gun law took effect.

The live-fire training requirement will not begin until April of 2026.

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