MA Senate Passes Gun Safety Bill 37 to 3. Here’s What’s in It.

thoughts and prayers sign

In October, the MA House passed a comprehensive gun bill 120 to 38 (read about it here). 

The Senate debated and passed its own gun safety bill, named the SAFER Act, yesterday. 

Among the key provisions of the bill were: 

  • Cracking down on ghost guns by bringing MA’s laws in line with national standards of  what counts as a firearm, prohibiting the 3D-printing of weapons unless the person owns a license to manufacture firearms, and requiring any kit-assembled guns by a licensed gun owner to be registered  
  • Codifying the state’s assault weapons ban as it is currently being interpreted by the Attorney General, thereby modernizing outdated language referring to the since-expired federal ban
    • NOT in the SENATE BILL: expanding the AWB to cover more firearms 
  • Prohibits machine gun conversion devices or devices that increase the rate of fire of firearms
  • Creates manufacturer accountability by banning the marketing of unlawful firearm sales to minors and allowing industry actors to be held civilly liable if such marketing practices lead to an individual being harmed. [SENATE ONLY]
  • Ensures that gun dealers are inspected annually and allows the Massachusetts State Police to conduct those inspections if a local licensing agency does not or cannot do so. 
  • Prohibits the carry of firearms in government administrative buildings, with exceptions for law enforcement officers and municipalities that choose to opt out.
    • NOT in SENATE Bill: Extension to polling places, educational institutions (including higher education); ban on carry on private property without express permission or signage
  • Expands the list of individuals eligible to file an extreme risk protection order (ERPO) to include licensed healthcare professionals
    • NOT in SENATE bill: Extension to include school administrators and employers
    • SENATE ONLY: Ability to file a pre-emptive ERPO, prohibiting someone who does not yet have a license for applying for one for a certain period of time
  • Protects survivors of harassment by requiring courts to compel the surrender of firearms by individuals who are subject to harassment protection orders who pose an immediate threat. 
  • Ensures that firearm licensing authorities have access to certain information about an applicant’s history of involuntary mental health hospitalizations due to posing a serious harm—with appropriate safeguards to guarantee privacy and due process [SENATE ONLY]
  • Establishes commissions to study the funding structure for community-based violence prevention services and to study emerging firearm technology 
  • Strengthens data collection on firearms and firearm crimes 

The final vote was 37 to 3. The only NO votes were Republicans Peter Durant (R-Spencer), Ryan Fattman (R-Sutton), and Patrick O’Connor (R-Weymouth).

During the debate on the bill, Senator Patrick O’Connor (R-Weymouth) tried to replace the bill with a narrower substitute bill. It received only 6 votes, the 3 NO votes plus Marc Pacheco (D-Taunton), Bruce Tarr (R-Gloucester), and Walter Timilty (R-Milton).

Your Senator Needs to Hear from You on Gun Safety

Back in October, the MA House passed a comprehensive gun safety bill aimed to build upon and continue MA’s leadership in gun violence prevention. The bill included a more robust assault weapons ban; measures to crack down on ghost guns; prohibitions on firearms in government buildings, polling places, and educational institutions; and more comprehensive data collection — among other key measures.

The action now turns to the Senate.   The Senate is expected to release its own bill later this month. It’s time to contact your state senator and let them know that you want to see bold and comprehensive legislation.  Join the Massachusetts Coalition to Prevent Gun Violence in calling for a comprehensive bill that includes, among other key provisions: Industry accountability: Victims and survivors of gun violence are rarely able to hold those who have harmed them accountable due to a federal law that provides unique protections for the firearms industry. MA has the opportunity to create an avenue for victims and survivors to seek justice in the civil court system by creating a code of conduct that the firearms industry must adhere to, ensuring that their products don’t end up in the wrong hands and ultimately preventing harm.

Regulating ghost guns: Ghost guns are untraceable, unserialized firearms that can be assembled at home from a kit purchased online without a background check. MA must update our definitions of a firearm and require that all ghost gun kits and parts can only be sold to those with a license to carry firearms.

Gun violence data analysis: MA has been collecting data on guns recovered in connection with a crime for years, and we must use that data to better understand how guns are ending up in our communities. Looking more deeply at data on guns recovered in MA will allow us to close any loopholes in our laws and prevent future violence.

Email your state senator.

MA Can Continue to Lead on Gun Violence Prevention

By Becca Kornet, Progressive Mass Western Norfolk County

Progressive Mass Western Norfolk County and the Medfield Democratic Town Committee co-hosted a virtual event on November 9 focused on gun violence. Rina Schneur from Moms Demand Action Massachusetts highlighted key statistics about gun violence, discussed the work that Moms does, and explained the omnibus gun violence bill recently passed by the State House (H.4139).

Moms Demand Action is an organization that advocates for gun safety laws, supports survivors and local partners, educates the public about secure gun storage, and supports candidates who will be champions for gun violence prevention.

Here are a few of the striking statistics she highlighted:

  • Every day, 120 Americans are killed with guns (up from 100 a day just a few years ago).
  • Firearms are the #1 leading cause of death for American children and teens.
  • While mass shootings are horrific and often motivate people to volunteer and take action, they actually represent <.5% of all gun deaths – the majority of gun deaths are suicides.
  • The gun death rate in the US is 20 times higher than that of other high-income countries.
Firearms are the #1 leading cause of death for American children and teens.
59% of gun deaths (2016-2020) were suicides
The gun death rate in the US is 20 times higher than that of other high income countries.

On October 18, the MA House voted 120 to 38 to pass H.4139: An Act Modernizing Gun Laws. Of Medfield’s two state representatives, Denise Garlick voted for the bill, and Marcus Vaughn voted against it.

Here’s what the bill would do:

  • Strengthen the process for and training associated with obtaining a license to carry a firearm
  • Ensure consistency in all forms of orders of protection and expands categories of people eligible to petition for protection
  • Rein in ghost guns by requiring firearm serialization and requiring the Department of Criminal Justice Information to collect and publish relevant data
  • Require all firearms sold in MA to be sold with locks or safety devices
  • Establish a commission to study the funding structure for violence prevention services and a commission to study and report microstamping and personalized handgun technology
  • Prohibit firearms in sensitive places (e.g., schools)
  • Raise the age of possessing a semi-automatic long gun to 21

The Massachusetts State Senate is working on its own bill, and we expect action by January. Please text MA to 64433 to contact your State Senator and urge them to take action.

MA House Votes 120 to 38 to Strengthen State’s Gun Laws

Last year, the right-wing US Supreme Court weakened states’ ability to pass strong gun safety laws by blocking New York’s handgun licensing law. At the end of last session, the MA Legislature passed legislation to ensure that MA’s gun laws would be compliant with the Supreme Court ruling, protecting them from legal challenge, but the situation also showed that the moment was ripe for revisiting how to strengthen MA’s gun laws overall.

Governor Deval Patrick signed a gun control omnibus package back in 2014, and an extreme risk protection order (ERPO), or “red flag,” bill was passed in 2018, allowing family members, housemates, and law enforcement officials to file temporary firearms restrictions in civil court. But there is more work to do.

As a result of impressive advocacy from the Massachusetts Coalition to Prevent Gun Violence, Moms Demand Action, and other groups, and the commitment of House Judiciary Chair Mike Day, the House passed a comprehensive gun violence prevention bill this Wednesday that continues MA’s leadership on this issue.

Among other steps, the bill does the following:

  • Strengthens MA’s assault weapons ban by expanding it to cover more firearms
  • Raises the age for possession of a semi-automatic long gun (rifle or shotgun) to 21
  • Prohibits all machine gun conversion devices or devices that increase the rate of fire of firearms
  • Cracks down on ghost guns by requiring that all firearms manufactured, assembled, possessed, purchased, or transferred into MA be serialized
  • Prohibits firearms in government buildings, polling places, and educational institutions, including higher education, and prohibits firearms on private property without express permission or signage
  • Expands the list of individuals eligible to file an extreme risk protection order (ERPO) to include licensed healthcare providers, school administrators, and employers
  • Strengthens data collection on firearms and firearm crimes
  • Establishes commissions to study the funding structure for community-based violence prevention services and the feasibility of microstamping (which imprints a unique identifier on bullet casings to help identify the gun used in specific incident) and smart gun technology (which includes various measures to ensure that only the rightful owner is using a gun, e.g., a thumb screen)

The final vote was 120 to 38.

Joining Republicans in voting against it were Democrats Shirley Arriaga (D-Chicopee), Brian Ashe (D-Longmeadow), Colleen Garry (D-Dracut), Pat Haddad (D-Somerset), Kathy LaNatra (D-Kingston), Christopher Markey (D-Dartmouth), Rady Mom (D-Lowell), David Robertson (D-Tewksbury), Aaron Saunders (D-Belchertown), Jeff Turco (D-Winthrop), and Jonathan Zlotnik (D-Gardner).

Democrats Pat Kearney (D-Scituate) and John Rogers (D-Norwood) were not present.

Take Action: How to Support a Progressive Budget

In the FY 2024 budget, both the House and the Senate embraced the opportunity to include forward-thinking proposals that strengthen our commitment to equity, but, with differences between them, the work is not done.

In the coming weeks, a Conference Committee of three senators and three representatives will be finalizing the details for next year’s budget, and they need to hear from you in support of key provisions:

  • Tuition equity language, which would ensure that all MA high school graduates have access to in-state tuition at our Commonwealth’s public colleges and universities, regardless of immigration status, as 23 other states and DC provide
  • Permanent School Meals for All, which would ensure healthy nutrition for all students, increase educational performance, and support working families
  • No Cost Calls language, as outlined in the Keeping Families Connected/No Cost Calls Coalition’s letter, namely, making all communication services free in 2023, including a strong guarantee of access to calls, and laying out clear language to ensure successful implementation

Can you write to your senator and representative to ask them to fight for the inclusion of all three in the final FY2024 budget?

Mark Your Calendars🗓

State House Hearings This Week

If you are interested in testifying (written, in-person, or virtual) and have questions, just reach out!

Thursday, 6/22: Gun Violence Awareness Month Action at the Massachusetts State House @ 10am in front of the State House

The Mass Coalition to Prevent Gun Violence will be gathering on the steps of the State house with local and national partners including Stop Handgun Violence, Moms Demand Action, Giffords, and Brady, to honor June as Gun Violence Awareness month and to mark the anniversary of the Supreme Court’s Bruen decision. Join for a press conference featuring survivors, violence prevention workers, and others impacted by gun violence to address the impact of gun violence in the Commonwealth and call for continued action.

Sunday, 6/25: Progressive Mass Activist Afternoons Continues @ 3:30 PM

Join Progressive Mass for an Activist Afternoons series! We’ll be reaching out to members across the state to reach out to their legislators about key issues at the State House. On 6/25, we’ll be focusing on the Transfer Fee bill. RSVP here!

Tuesday, 6/27: Hearing at the State House for the Prison Moratorium Bill @ 11 am, Rally @ 10 am

Massachusetts does not need new prisons and jails: we need to be investing in communities, not in expanding the carceral system. So make sure that the Legislature hears loud and clear by showing up to support the Prison Moratorium in Gardner Auditorium on the State House and a rally before, RSVP here.

Thursday, 7/13: Common Start Rally at the State House

Please join the Common Start Coalition for a family-friendly rally at the State House on July 13 at 11:00 AM! As we head into the summer months, this is an incredible opportunity to keep up the momentum for high-quality, affordable, and accessible early education and care in Massachusetts.

Following a brief speaking program, children and their families will lead a march through the State House to demonstrate the power of our coalition and to highlight solutions to the child care crisis. Art and other activities for children will be a part of the event.

Common Start Family-Friendly Rally for Child Care

Time: Thursday, July 13 at 11:00 AM
Location: Grand Staircase, Massachusetts State House, Boston
Travel: There will be buses from across the state. More info to come.
Interpretation: There will be Spanish interpretation for the event.
Make sure to RSVP here: https://bit.ly/csrally7-13

Alphabet Soup Activism: FBRC, ERPO, SCA, and AVR

Saturday’s convention was exciting, as we saw all three of our endorsed candidates–Jay Gonzalez, Quentin Palfrey, and Josh Zakim–win the party’s endorsement.

But the convention also reminded us of all the work we still have cut out for ourselves this legislative session. The speakers highlighted how Massachusetts needs to do more to set a good example for other states and to fight back against Trump.

And that can’t wait.

Here are a few things that you can do this week.

Funding Our Schools

Two weeks ago, the State Senate unanimously passing the Foundation Budget Modernization Bill, which would update the school funding formula and help provide high-quality education for every child across Massachusetts.

It’s now time for the House to act and pass the bill (S.2525: An Act to Modernizing the Foundation Budget for the 21st Century). More than 120 members of the House have expressed support. It just needs a vote.

Can you call your representative and ask them to fully fund our public schools?

Three years ago, the Foundation Budget Review Commission found that the state was shortchanging public education by $1-2 billion each year because of an outdated funding formula. We can’t let another school year pass without action.

Standing Up for Gun Safety

Two weeks ago, the House passed Extreme Risk Protection Order (ERPO) legislation (H.4539) authored by Rep. Marjorie Decker, which creates a kind of court order that family members and law enforcement can request to temporarily restrict a person’s access to guns because they pose a significant danger to themselves or others.

When family members are empowered to act, they can prevent warning signs from turning into a mass shooting or gun suicide. A recent study found that Connecticut’s suicide rate fell by almost 14% after local authorities started enforcing the law.

The bill now goes to the Senate, which will be voting this Thursday morning.

Can you call your senator today in support of common sense gun safety legislation?

Standing Up to Trump’s Hate

Do you want Massachusetts to make clear that we don’t stand for the xenophobic policies and rhetoric coming out of the Trump white House?

Last month, the State Senate passed four key provisions of the Safe Communities Act in the budget:

  1. No Police Inquiries about Immigration Status
  2. Stop Collaborating with ICE
  3. Provide Basic Due Process Protections
  4. Refusal to participate in any discriminatory registry

This is a great step forward, but we can’t claim victory just yet.

Make sure that our legislators hear, loud and clear, that these provisions need to stay in the budget. Can you call your state representative and state senator to urge the inclusion of these essential protections?

Making Every Voice Heard in Our Elections

Did you know that almost 700,000 eligible voters in Massachusetts aren’t registered? Well, that’s a problem.

Fortunately, Automatic Voter Registration is part of the solution. It’s a simple and important reform designed to increase political participation and strengthen voting rights by shifting our voter registration system from an opt-in to an opt-out one, making elections more free, fair, and accessible for all.

Can you email your representative today in support of AVR?

Thank you for all you do!

MA House Takes Action on Gun Safety…on to the Senate

Two weeks ago, the House passed the Extreme Risk Protection Order (“ERPO”) bill, also called the “red flag” bill, by an overwhelming 139-14 (Two Democrats–Colleen Garry and Jonathan Zlotnik–and 12 Republicans voted against it). Groups like Moms Demand Action and the Mass Coalition to Prevent Gun Violence and the bill’s lead sponsor Rep. Marjorie Decker put in a lot of work to make that happen.

What does the bill do? It creates a kind of court order that family members and law enforcement can request to temporarily restrict a person’s access to guns because they pose a significant danger to themselves or others. When family members are empowered to act, they can prevent warning signs from turning into a mass shooting or gun suicide. Research has demonstrated that Connecticut’s Extreme Risk law has saved between 38 and 76 suicides.

Before the final vote, Democrats beat back a number of amendments that sought to deflect from the issue at hand (Republicans would like to talk about anything other than guns) or set higher standards than exist elsewhere in the judicial system.

Stigmatizing Mental Illness

Republican Nicholas Boldyga (R-Southwick) offered an amendment to require the state to provide a mental health assessment of an individual who receives an ERPO within 48 hours and, if deemed necessary, to create a mental health program for that individual. Democrats rightly argued that this would further serve to stigmatize mental illness, underscoring that the discussion is about guns, not mental health. Republicans only seem to care about mental health funding when it is used as a way to deflect from the issue of guns.

The amendment was rejected 42-109 (RC#352).  Eight Democrats joining the Republican caucus in supporting the amendment were Reps. DiZoglio, Dwyer, Garry, Pignatelli, J. Rogers, Stanley, Velis, and Zlotnik.

Republican Shawn Dooley (R-Norfolk) offered an amendment to require that if a family member brings someone into court and the court decides said person is an extreme risk, it automatically triggers a Section 12, i.e., an emergency 3-day hospitalization. However, as Rep. Harold Naughton argued in the debate, this is a blunt instrument and may not always be appropriate, as some cases are not about mental health but about alcohol abuse or domestic violence.

The amendment was rejected 34-116 (RC#354). Democrats Dwyer and Garry again joined Republicans in voting for it. Republicans Harrington and Kelcourse joined Democrats in voting against it.

How Do You Get Republicans to Passionately Advocate for Court-Appointed Counsel…?

Republican Shauna O’Connell (R-Taunton) offered an amendment to require courts to notify the individual for whom an ERPO is filed of their right to retain counsel and to grant them court-appointed counsel if they cannot afford their own. The Gideon Supreme Court ruling maintained that individuals charged with serious crimes have a right to counsel.  Massachusetts only offers paid counsel in very limited cases for civil matters. Advocates for a civil right to counsel have focused on matters involving basic human needs — such as shelter, sustenance, safety, health, and child custody. This amendment would effectively treat gun ownership as more important than those.

The amendment failed 36-117 (RC#355), with Democrats Dwyer and Garry again voting with Republicans.

Setting Uniquely High Evidentiary Standards

Republican Joseph McKenna (R-Webster) offered an amendment to increase the evidentiary standard for approving an ERPO from “the preponderance of evidence” to “clear and convincing evidence.”

The amendment failed 40-110 (RC#356). Democrats DiZoglio, Dwyer, Garry, Markey, Velis, and Zlotnik joined Republicans in voting for it.

McKenna also offered an amendment to raise the standard by which the court determines a risk to “imminent and significant.”

It failed 36 to 117 (RC#357), with Dwyer and Garry again voting with Republicans.

McKenna offered yet another amendment to require the notification of the agency, board, or supervisory authority governing any and all professional or civil licenses, permits, or certifications an individual on whom an ERPO has been filed. The amendment marked another attempt by Republicans to act as though the issue at hand were not guns.

It failed 35 to 118 (RC#58), with Garry the sole Democrat voting with Republicans.

Want to read the amendments? You can here.

Next Steps

The bill now heads to the Senate. Find your senator here and give him/her a call today.

Take Action on Gun Violence — and Join Us on March 24th

Students from across Massachusetts walked out of class (or, if they had a snow day, out of their homes) to march to the State House to demand action on gun violence.

According to the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, Massachusetts has some of the strongest gun laws in the country and, correspondingly, one of the lowest gun death rates. And we should be proud of that. But the question isn’t whether we’re doing better than other states — it’s whether we’re doing as best as we can. And there, the answer is a clear no.

The Massachusetts Legislature, however, has the opportunity to strengthen our gun laws this session, although time is short.

H.3610 would create an Extreme Risk Protection Order (ERPO), a kind of court order that family members and law enforcement can request to temporarily restrict a person’s access to guns because they pose a significant danger to themselves or others. When family members are empowered to act, they can prevent warning signs from turning into a mass shooting or gun suicide.

Our neighbors in Connecticut have already passed such a bill into law, and legislation is moving forward in New York, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Maine as well.

Call or email your legislators today to ask them to co-sponsor the bill and then contact their colleagues of the Joint Committee on Public Safety & Homeland Security and ask them to move the bill out of Committee.

And if you’re planning to go to the March for Our Lives on the Boston Common on Saturday, March 24th, RSVP here so that you can connect with us when there.