On July 25th, Governor Healy signed into law An Act Modernizing Firearms Laws (H.4885). Passed in response the Supreme Court’s decision in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen, 597 U.S. 1 (2022), the bill aims to modernize the state’s existing firearms laws, further protect safety in public spaces, and increase violence prevention programming.
The bill cracks down on ghost guns, which are homemade weapons that do not have a serial number, and guns made with a 3-D printer. The bill requires that all firearms manufactured or assembled in Massachusetts be registered and that the Department of Criminal Justice Information Services develop and maintain an electronic firearms registration system. The legislation also requires all firearms to have a serial number and prohibits unlicensed individuals from using 3-D printers to manufacture firearms. The legislation criminalizes the creation, sale or transfer of untraceable firearms.
The legislation also updates the state’s “Red Flag Law.” The bill clarifies that a person who has had their firearm license revoked in accordance with an Extreme Risk Protective Order cannot obtain any new firearm licenses or identification cards while the order is still in place. The bill also expands who can seek a Protective Order to include licensing authorities, law enforcement, health care provides, and family or household members.
Other changes include expanding the definition of “assault weapons,” creating a fund that will fund violence prevention and intervention services, and criminalizing possession of a firearm in government buildings, courts, and election/polling areas. With updates in so many areas of firearms law, the bill is the state’s most significant gun safety legislation in a decade.
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